


Unknown Number

by BurnedStars777



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Classroom Sex, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Phone Sex, Rey Needs A Hug, Sexting, Sexual Tension, Shameless Smut, Teacher-Student Relationship, Virgin Rey (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-02-08 16:44:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18627202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurnedStars777/pseuds/BurnedStars777
Summary: Every night the stranger with the deep voice calls, and every night she listens. Sometimes she does more than listen.He is an unknown number. But with every call, Rey becomes more certain she knows who he really is.She has a feeling if he knew her identity, he would be horrified.Regardless, she never misses a class.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Could be a couple chapters, or could be many more depending on the feedback! ;)

Her phone rings, and she is far too eager to pick it up.

_“Are you alone?”_ He asks immediately, his voice deep and gravelly.

“Yes,” she says, closing her fridge and making her way to her bedroom.

_“Have you been waiting for me to call?”_

“Yes,” she says again, but it’s more of a whisper. She stands by her bed, one palm flat against her mattress.

_“Are you going to do what I tell you?”_

“Yes.”

_“Good.”_

Every night the stranger with the deep voice calls, and every night she listens.

Sometimes she does more than listen.

_“Take off your shirt.”_

Rey puts the phone on speaker and places it on her bed. Her hands grab the bottom of her shirt and she hikes it over her head in one motion. It flows to the ground like a heavy feather.

_“Place your hand on your neck.”_

She does.

_“I want you to slide it down. Slowly.”_

She does. Her fingertips tickle her skin.

_“Now touch your breasts,”_ he commands, and his voice shifts. Rey knows he has begun touching himself on the other side of the line.

She sighs quietly as her hand slips under her bra, her fingers circling around her nipple. The straps of the undergarment slide off her shoulders, and soon her bra joins her shirt on the ground.

_“Do you wish I was there?”_ She can hear him moving his hand on the other side, and she closes her eyes, imagining him. Imagining him imagining her.

“Yes,” she says again, her own voice hitching as she rolls a nipple between her fingers.

_“Are you wet? Hm? Tell me.”_

Rey dips her fingers into her pants and runs them along the outside of her panties. Sure enough, there is a small puddle of dampness.

She swallows. “I’m very wet.” Her face flushes as she says this. She’s never been good with this sort of thing, and it’s almost too embarrassing to say out loud, even after a week of doing this.

The first night he had called her by accident. At least, that’s what she had assumed. What had followed was a couple seconds of awkward dialogue and explanations. What followed afterwards was something else entirely.

Now, these calls were the best part of Rey’s day.

_“Listen to me carefully. I want you to take off your pants, and then slide your panties to your ankles.”_

She hooks her thumbs into her waistband and removes the clothing. Then she slides her panties to her ankles as he commands, biting her lip as she observes the damp spot on the underside.

_“Get on your knees for me.”_

As Rey sinks to her knees, she wonders what it would be like to actually do this for real. With a man. Sex had never interested her the way it had her other friends, and for a while she wondered if something might be wrong with her. She is twenty-one, and never once has she found herself in a situation like this. Never has she _wanted_ to. Until now.

Rey is little miss perfect to her friends. It isn’t a bad thing, although Finn and Rose like to tease her about it quite a bit. She is an overachiever, pragmatic, and utterly focused on her studies and career goals. She doesn’t have time for much else.

But with _him_ she feels…like something else. She can let her guard down and relax and…and feel these wonderful things, things she didn’t even know were possible for someone like her.

He is a stranger. He is an unknown number. But every day, Rey becomes more certain that she knows who he really is.

_“Are you on your knees?”_

“Yes.”

_“Good girl.”_

Rey awaits with bated breath, her hand on her stomach.

_“Touch yourself.”_

She sighs as her hand snakes down to rub the place between her legs. She pitches forward, placing her palm on the ground to steady herself as she moves.

_“Tell me how it feels, to touch yourself like a naughty girl.”_

“It feels…good,” she says, her fingers moving rapidly.

_“You can do better than that.”_

“It, ah, it feels really good?”

He chuckles on the other end of the line. _“We’ll have to work on that.”_

For some reason that just makes her wetter.

_“Slide two fingers into yourself.”_

She does, with a small moan. She wonders why he never says the crasser words that other men say. She wonders if maybe there is a part of him that is as shy as her.

_“Are you tight, sweetheart?”_

“Yes,” she breathes, sliding her fingers in and out, painfully slowly. “I…I wish you were here.”

He moans quietly on the other side. _“Oh yeah? What would you have me do to you if I were?”_

She begins touching her clit again, her knees aching and her hands moving faster. “I’d want you to kiss me.”

_“Mm. Where?”_

“My mouth, my neck, my, _oh_ , my breasts.”

_“Anything else?”_ His voice is strained and she can tell he is close.

“I want you to…I want your head between my legs.” Her fingers are relentless now, and it’s becoming harder to breathe.

_“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You want me to hold your legs down and make you come, is that it?”_

“Yes,” she moans, squeezing her eyes shut, her entire body rocking. The pressure in her stomach builds. “I-I think I’m going to-”

_“Go on. Come for me.”_

And she does. Hard. Her head comes back and her body shakes as she moans softly. As she rides her climax, she hears him swear, and she knows he’s about to lose himself too.

When she comes down, she carefully removes her fingers, watching in fascination as they glisten.

_“Fuck,”_ he hisses, and then he groans softly, and a shiver travels up her spine as she imagines him finishing in his hand.

There are a few moments of breathing, and then he’s back.

_“One day, I’ll find you, sweetheart. And when I do, I’ll make you come on my tongue.”_

Heat travels low in Rey’s stomach. “I’d like that,” she says quietly, her cheeks flushing.

_“I’ll call you tomorrow.”_

“Okay.”

He pauses. _“Good night.”_

She blinks, partly in surprise. “Good night.”

And then the call ends.

Rey knows if her suspicions are right about his identity, then he will not want to ‘meet her’ for real. Mostly because he _has_ already met her for real, and he doesn’t even know it.

She is positive he doesn’t know who she is. Her voice isn’t that distinct, like his own, and besides, he does most of the talking during their conversations anyway.

Rey has a feeling if he really knew who she was, he would be horrified.

Regardless, she never misses a class.

The next day she goes to her class and sits beside Finn. He’s talking to Rose about a project for a different class, which gives Rey the time to look at Ben Solo, her writing professor.

His muscled forearms, his messy collar, his sleek black hair, his dark brown eyes, his red lips, his big ears, his serious expression, his angled jawline. Rey stares and crosses her legs.

“Eyes up front,” he tells the class with his low, commanding voice, and Rey’s stomach rolls.

Yes, she’s positive it’s him. She wonders what he would say if he knew the girl he gives C’s to is also the one he makes come every night.


	2. Chapter 2

            That night Rey sits on her bed, tapping her foot and waiting.

How ironic is it that she is expecting a call from her professor when she is working on one of his assignments?

Rey bites the end of her eraser off and nearly chokes on it. With a very unladylike noise, she spews the spittle-encased rubber from her throat and shoots it across the room. She glances down at her blank paper, glaring daggers at the prompt.

_Write about an experience that has influenced you as an individual._

It is a topic so bland and pointless and overdone, but maybe that is the point. Rey knows enough about Professor Solo to notice how he often spins something from the blandest of subjects. Maybe that is why despite hating the arts, she can _tolerate_ his class.

Then again, maybe it is because she grows wet every time he speaks.

He has this way about him, this distinct lowness in his voice that makes her skin prickle pleasantly. Even on the other side of a phone line, where the connection is muffled, it makes her heart beat pick up.

And just like that, she has her topic.

It is risky, she knows, but she has also been wondering how to approach the subject the past several days. She can’t very well walk up to his desk and ask him straight-out can she? No. Definitely not. But she can subtly reference their nightly calls, and maybe if it _is_ him he might…

Rey stares down at the few sentences she has managed to write in horror. What is she doing? There is no way she can go through with this!

She turns her pencil around to erase her writing when she remembers she has bitten the eraser off. She sighs. Well, she already has almost half a page…might as well keep going.

She is on the last sentence when her phone rings, and she picks it up subconsciously, too absorbed in her work to remember who is calling.

“Hello?” she asks, chewing her lip as she rewords her last phrase.

_“It’s me.”_

Rey nearly tears her paper as she rapidly sits up. “Oh! Right, I…I’m sorry I was-”

He chuckles. _“Did I call at a bad time?”_

“No! I was just finishing up an assignment.” Rey cringes as she realizes her error. Her fingers tighten around her phone in anxiety.

He pauses for a few moments. _“Are you a student?”_

“Uh…sort of.”

_“Sort of?”_

“I’m a grad student,” she lies, panicking.

_“I see.”_ Is that relief in his voice?

“What about you?” Rey questions carefully. “What do you do?”

She holds her breath. This is it.

_“I didn’t call to talk about my profession.”_

“I thought you said you wanted to meet in real life,” Rey counters. She isn’t letting him get off that easy. “Shouldn’t I know a bit more about you first?”

_“…Another time.”_

She huffs. “Very well.”

He is quiet for a few moments. _“Is…now a good time?”_

Despite her mild frustration, a tingling grows in between Rey’s legs at the prospect of listening to him again.

“Yes.”

_“Good. Lie on your back, sweetheart.”_

She lies down as he says, her head brushing her completed assignment. Her stomach rolls with nervous excitement. Half from hearing him, half from the possibility of giving Professor Solo her paper.

_“I want you to touch your clit for me.”_

Hm. Usually there is more build up than this. Perhaps he is in a rush. Nonetheless, she slips her hand into her panties, closing her eyes as she begins to circle the most sensitive place between her legs.

_“How does that feel? Be articulate this time.”_

Bloody Hell, she can’t stop picturing Solo. He’s bending her over his desk, his hand snaking into the front of her panties, his breath hot against her ear.

“ _Oh,_ ” she cries softly, her hand picking up speed. “I-It feels really good.”

_“What else?”_

“I don’t know what else to say,” she responds, her hand moving but her nervousness coming back.

_“Let’s try something else then. Use your other hand. Tell me how wet you are.”_

She sticks two fingers inside herself, curling them up slightly. She is met with an overwhelming heat that clings to her fingers.

“I’m so wet,” she sighs, moving her hands.

He groans quietly. _“Tell me what you’re picturing. Tell me what you want me to do to you.”_

Rey takes a deep breath and relaxes. Then she let’s her imagination run wild.

“I want you behind me. I w-want you pressed up against me, your hand inside me.” She swallows shakily. “I want you to…to bend me over your desk.”

_“My desk?”_

“A desk,” she clarifies quickly. “I want you to…to suck on my neck and pull down my panties and, _oh-_ ”

_“You want to get fucked over a desk, do you?”_ His voice is ragged, and she almost can’t make out what he is saying. _“God, you want me to fuck you like the naughty, school girl you are?”_

“Yes,” she moans, her fingers plunging in and out, her cheeks bright red.

_“Will you do everything I tell you to do?”_

“Yes.”

_“And if you don’t? Hm? Do you want me to, ungh, to spank you?”_

Rey’s cheeks flush a violent red at the image. “Yes, professor.”

_“Oh, fuck.”_

She hears him moan quietly, and she knows he has come, perhaps earlier than he intended. That doesn’t bother her. She has plenty of material to help her finish within moments. She clenches around her fingers, and gives a small cry, her back arching off the bed as she rides the waves.

She comes down gasping, and she doesn’t hear his voice for several moments. She almost thinks he has hung up until-

_“You seem to really enjoy the classroom thing.”_

She swallows. “Do you?”

_“With you sweetheart, I don’t think there’s much I wouldn’t enjoy.”_

How should she respond to that? “…Thank you?”

He chuckles loudly on the other end. _“I’ll call you tomorrow.”_

“Okay,” she breathes.

When he hangs up her heart is racing again. She knows now he doesn’t know it is her, and she wonders how she should feel about that. Of course, there is still the possibility he could _suspect_ it is her.

She picks up her assignment and places it into her bag. Either way, he might find out soon enough.

 

\---

 

“Ms. Tico, if you would be so kind as to keep your eyes up front, I think it would be for your benefit, given your grades on last week’s assignment.”

Rey watches as Rose blushes a vibrant red in humiliation and then swivels her face to look up front. Finn gives her a sympathetic look, and then rolls his eyes at Rey. It becomes clear to her that neither of her friends care much for Professor Solo, which just makes this whole situation even barmier.

He’s wearing a maroon button down today, and his sleeves are rolled to his elbows, exposing his forearms. She catches herself thinking of those arms around her, bending her over, spanking her.

She subtly bites her lip as her cheeks become pink.

He’s talking about the best ways to conclude an essay. She’s heard this spiel a million times from past academic experiences, but somehow he makes her care about what he’s saying. He’s brushing his hair back now, and she squeezes her legs together.

Then he turns and looks right at her.

“Rey,” he says, and she jolts, because he has never directly addressed her before. “Can you tell me what’s wrong with this last sentence?” He points to the board.

Rey’s heart pounds, and not just because she’s been called out. She studies the board, wondering what could possibly be the correct answer. Everything about it is grammatically correct, so he must mean…

“It’s utterly bland,” she states, fairly confident in her answer. “It’s cliché to the point where it lacks any sort of imagination.” She pauses. “It lacks passion.”

And then he raises an eyebrow, and her entire face goes red.

“Very good,” he says, and then turns back to the board.

Finn and Rose give her a thumbs up.

At the end of class, Rey asks Finn if he would like to hang out, but he claims he’s busy.

“I’ve got a date,” he says, and then looks off to the side.

“Oh,” Rey says, not sure how to feel about this. Finn tells her everything, but now it seems like he’s leaving something out.

“Yeah, I’ll just, uh, talk to you later.”

Rey nods, and bids him farewell. He and Rose and the rest of her classmates leave, and she lets them. She would rather turn in her paper alone.

When she lingers to the point where everyone has gone but her, Professor Solo stares.

“Can I help you with something?” he asks dryly.

Rey walks over to his desk and hands him the assignment from last night. “I just wanted to give you this,” she says, handing him the paper.

He stares at it. “I see.”

And then because she’s feeling bold she says, “I’d like to know your thoughts, at a later date.”

When he looks up at her again, she swears he can see right through to her.

“Is this your way of saying you need extra help?”

Rey blinked. “Well I…maybe. I’m not exactly a writer.”

“No. You have a more pragmatic mind. I can tell.”

She nods because she has run out of things to say.

He nods to the chair beside his desk. “Take a seat. I can read this right now.”

Her mouth drops in horror. “Oh no, that’s quite alright.”

“It’s not a problem. It will only take a few minutes. Brevity is usually your style, I’ve noticed.” He leans back in his chair and grips her paper. He nods to the chair again. “Sit.”

Rey feels like a robot as she sits down. This was such a bad, bad idea. She never imagined he would be reading the damn thing in front of her. She feels like she is about to vomit.

He sighs and then brings the paper in front of him, his eyes scanning over it. His eyebrows furrow, and she can’t tell if it’s in concentration or in confusion. Or revulsion. It could definitely be revulsion.

She knows he must be rereading it over and over, because he’s right, it is quite short. And he’s taking an awfully long time.

“On second thought,” he says finally, “I think I need time to give you proper feedback.” His face is impassive, and he isn’t looking at her. Just at the paper.

“A-alright,” she stammers, immediately rising. “Have a good day, professor.”

He looks up then. “Have a good day.”

Rey races out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: We get to see what's in Rey's writing, also some interesting conversations...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on Tumblr as OkaaraGem. Feel free to reach out if you ever want to talk about Reylo, TROS, Star Wars or Game of Thrones! :)

When he doesn’t call that night, Rey thinks she has made a terrible mistake.

She stays up, jiggling her leg against her bedpost, just staring at her phone. She can’t call him even if she wanted to. She has never saved his number, cementing his status as a stranger in her brain…even if she knows more than he realizes.

What if her assignment scared him off? What if he contacted administration? What if he became so uncomfortable that he reported her? This doesn’t make sense, and she knows it. She never referred to him in her assignment, but yet the thought of anyone finding out makes her want to-

Rey races to her bathroom and promptly throws up. She grimaces as she wipes the sick from her face, and then bends over to slurp water from the bathroom faucet. When she comes back to her room, her phone screen is lit. She grabs the device immediately, knowing it can’t be anyone but him at three in the morning.

She doesn’t find a missed call.

She finds an email instead.

_Ms. Niima,_

_Please visit me during my office hours tomorrow._

_Sincerely,_

_Professor Solo_

Rey drops her phone and races back into the bathroom.

 

\---

 

“Are you feeling okay, Rey?” Rose asks the next day, after Rey knocks over her tea and stains her book bag.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she insists, grabbing a couple of paper towels from the bathroom dispenser and mopping up her mess.

“Are you _sure?_ ”

“I didn’t get a good night’s rest,” Rey admits. At least that isn’t a lie.

Rose sighs. “I hear you. Between Solo _and_ Dameron’s assignments, I’m losing my mind!”

“Dameron doesn’t assign much work.”

“That’s because he doesn’t like to grade it,” Rose reminds her, chuckling.

Rey tosses the soggy paper towels into the trash. “Have you heard from Finn lately?”

“Yeah, why?”

Rey furrows her eyebrows. “He told me yesterday he had a date, but he was acting…”

“A little wacko?” Rose guesses. “Yeah, he was that way around me too.”

“Do you know who it was with?”

Rose pauses, and then glances off to the side. “I…have my suspicions.”

Rey raises an eyebrow. “Care to elaborate?”

Now it’s _Rose_ who’s acting odd. “I don’t know if it’s really any of my business…”

“It’s alright,” Rey says, resting a hand on Rose’s shoulder. If there’s one thing she can understand, it’s that everybody has his or her own secrets.

As they exit the bathroom, Rey looks at the clock and notes her time is running out. When Rose asks if she wants to get together after her last class, she has to decline.

She already has plans.

 

\---

 

Rey stares at the wooden door of Ben Solo’s office. His room is tucked away in the corner of the smallest academic building on campus. It’s secluded and it’s inconspicuous, and Rey finds this makes perfect sense for his character.

She raises her hand to knock on his door, but her fist shakes. She is already five minutes late, but she is a coward. She takes a deep breath and shuts her eyes. She’s overreacting. Yes, that’s it. Everything will be fine.

And with that frame of mind, she lowers her hand and pushes the door open instead.

He’s at his desk in the center of his tiny office. The walls are bland and devoid of any decorations. There is a withered plant in the corner that Rey suspects he has never bothered to water. He’s wearing a navy blue button down today, rolled up to the elbows as usual. The left side of his collar is ruffled, and her eyes frequently go to it as she takes a seat in front of him. His arms are propped on his desk, and his face is infuriatingly impassive.

She glances down, and her assignment is right in front of her.

“You have notes for me?” Her voice cracks halfway through the sentence, and she blushes horribly.

He continues to watch her. “Read it to yourself.”

She blinks at him. His face is immoveable. Apparently, he is serious, so she scoots forward in her seat and bends her neck. Her penmanship, she notices for the first time, is dreadful.

But there are more pressing issues.

_I’m not what you would call ‘a people person.’ I value my solitude, yet I do not want to be entirely alone. I suppose I can’t have it both ways, but I’ve found something that practically meets in the middle._

_Every night I receive a call from an unknown number. Glimpses of the digits are burned into my mind, yet I refuse to memorize them. I refuse to make it real. Because if it’s real, then that means I’m actually deserving of this attention._

_I should be horrified, or disgusted, but I’m not. Not even the first time when he called, when it was surely by mistake. I was intrigued, and my stomach churned, and I felt like either laughing or vomiting or both. Every now and then I catch myself thinking of matching a face to a voice. I want to know who it is, but I’m afraid to ask._

_I’m afraid to know. I’m afraid to know if_ he _knows._

_But what makes me terrified is I know I’ll like it._

Rey raises her head, finding her tongue feels too big in her mouth.

Ben Solo doesn’t blink. “Are you finished?”

She nods.

He runs a hand along his cleanly shaven chin. “Your grammar is abysmal.”

This is so utterly _not_ what Rey is expecting that she can’t help but to burst out in a short sharp laugh. She sobers quickly, when he narrows his eyes at her.

“Is something funny?” he asks dryly.

“No! I just thought…I thought I might be in trouble.”

He raises an eyebrow, and Rey’s heart stops for one long moment. “Not quite.”

“W-what do you mean?”

Ben Solo leans back in his chair, a frown on his face. “I think it would be in your best interest if you dropped my class.”

Rey gawks at him. “What? No! Why…why would you say that?”

“The add/drop period ends this week,” Solo continues, as if she hadn’t spoken. “You will need to make your decision by then.”

Rey blinks in disbelief. “What decision?”

And then all of a sudden, _he’s_ the one who’s blushing. He tugs at his wrinkled collar, as if it’s too tight.

“You need to decide what you want,” he mutters, looking at her and then away. Rey is beyond confused, and he must sense this because he heaves a sigh, and then adds, “Sweetheart.”

A huge roll of heat tugs at Rey, and she is both shocked and incredibly joyous all in the same moment. She calms herself as the realization slowly sinks in, and she recognizes what it is he is asking her to decide.

She either stays in his class, and acts as though this never happened…or she drops the class and…

“What do _you_ want?” she asks quietly. She notices those ears of his have lit up like lanterns.

He shakes his head, composing himself. “It doesn’t matter what I want.”

“Yes it does,” she argues, stamping down the bizarreness of the situation in favor of practicality. “Of course it matters.”

“I’m a selfish man,” he supplies, and she feels lightheaded.

“You want me to drop the class.” It isn’t a question.

He is silent.

She clears her throat for what feels like the thousandth time. “Did you ever suspect it was me?”

“Rey,” he says lowly, and she tampers down a shudder at the sound of her name. “You aren’t as subtle as you think.”

Okay. Okay. She _really_ needs to calm her heartbeat.

“C-Can I think it o-over?” she stammers, hating how foolish she sounds, but it’s the only thing she can think to say.

He doesn’t seem surprised at her request; in fact he seems relieved. “Of course.”

Rey stands so quickly that she nearly stumbles, and his hand shoots out across the desk as if to steady her, but he must decide against it at the last minute. She’s nodding like a crazy person, over and over again.

“Alright, I’ll, er, I’ll, um, uh, see you, in class, or…or maybe not.”

The corner of his lips twitch in what she thinks is amusement, and thankfully it cuts through some of the tension. “Sure.”

 

\---

 

For the second night in a row, Rey does not sleep. How can she? She’s utterly lost, and when she’s lost, she resorts to logical problem solving.

Hence, the pros and cons list.  

Pros: She wouldn’t have to stay in a class where she was doing worse than average. She wouldn’t have to give up on these late night calls. She could…maybe…meet him outside of class? Is that what he was implying?

Cons: She would have to find another class last minute. She would have to keep a massive secret from her friends. She would…she would…

Damn. She’s finding it harder and harder to come up with cons. Maybe that’s because she’s selfish too.

She shudders pleasantly as she remembers what he had said. About how he had known to some extent. Maybe not the first time but…he was right, she wasn’t exactly smooth when it came to these sorts of things. He had probably figured it out rather quickly. And yet still he had continued to call…

She doesn’t think it’s unfair for him to request she drop his class. It would be entirely inappropriate given the academic power dynamic. He would be risking his career, not to mention it might put her in a potentially vulnerable position.

Rey isn’t vulnerable regardless. But even so, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.

She softly smacks the back of her head against her wall over and over again. The main thing holding her back is the position it would put her in with her friends. She can’t ever imagine telling them if something like this were to happen for real…and she wouldn’t want to. But she also wouldn’t want to keep a secret this massive from them.

She shakes her head as clarity returns. What is she doing? She isn’t some love-sick girl. She isn’t some wanton person without any regard for common sense. This is foolish. All of it. She doesn’t need some wildly romantic, sexual experience. She’s always prided herself on being different, on being above it all. She has other things to focus on. Her academia for one thing. Her future career for another.

With that in mind she picks up her phone and misdials the number she thinks she remembers about eleven times. On the twelfth attempt, she finds success.

_“Hello?”_ he asks, and he doesn’t sound sleepy.

“Professor Solo?” she whispers, her heart in her throat.

_“Rey.”_

Hearing her name on the other side of the line does things to her body that embarrasses her, so much so that she almost rethinks her decision. In the end, she holds strong.

“I think…it would be best if we just keep things the way they are.” When she says it, she feels a massive wave of disappointment crash over her. “I’m sorry,” she adds.

He is silent for a long time. And then-

_“I understand.”_ Does she also detect disappointment in his tone? He pauses. _“I don’t think it’s wise for you to call this number again.”_

“Okay,” she answers quietly, staring at her lap.

_“Good night, Ms. Niima.”_

She already misses ‘Rey.’

“Good night.”

She hears him hang up, and she collapses into her pillow with a groan.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm, so it appears Rey has made her decision….or has she? Next chapter, we find things aren’t always as clear cut.


	4. Chapter 4

At the time, it seemed like the best thing to do, but now Rey is sorely regretting her decision.

Every night she gets her hopes up, thinking he will call, but he does not. He honors their agreement, as she should do. As she _must_ do. There is no going back.

Besides, the add/drop period has ended.

He doesn’t act resentful towards her during class; in fact, he doesn’t act at _all_ towards her. He seems to go out of his way to avoid calling on her, even when she raises her hand to inquire about an assignment. She does not take it personally; he is doing what he must, after all.

But she is still frustrated.

When she touches herself at night, she pictures him whispering in her ear, moaning her name, and she always comes as she imagines him bending her over his desk. But it isn’t the same as before; it’s not nearly as satisfying.

And to make matters worse, things with Finn have become downright strange.

“I feel like I never see you anymore,” she tells him at the bar, two weeks after her decision to ‘end things’ with Ben Solo, keeping in mind that nothing ever really began in the first place.

“I’m really sorry, Rey,” Finn replies, running a hand over his face. “Things have been…kind of messy.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Finn shakes his head, and takes a sip of his drink. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Rey says, more concerned for his well-being than she is offended by his secrecy.

As the night goes on, they have a couple more drinks, and soon Finn is even acting like his old self again. They nearly piss themselves when he recounts the time Professor Phasma slipped on black ice and caught herself in a near split.

Rey is still wiping tears from her eyes when the door to the bar opens behind her. Finn looks up and just like that the smile is wiped from his face. Rey turns and finds Professor Dameron of all people, in the company of another man. By the way they are interacting, Rey assumes this is a partner of sorts, which mildly surprises her.

Professor Dameron seems to catch their eyes, and his face falters for a moment. Rey suspects it must be uncomfortable for any professor to see his students out of the classroom. He gives them each a small nod, and then leads his date across the bar.

Finn finishes his drink beside her. “I think I’m going to go home.”

“Already?” Rey checks the time. “It’s only eleven.”

But Finn’s already taking out his wallet. “I’m not really feeling that great. I’m going to call Rose to pick me up. Want a ride?”

Rey is not really in the mood to go back to her empty apartment just yet. “Actually, I think I’ll stay here for a bit longer.”

Finn raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Rey nods. “Don’t be worried. I’ll phone you if I get into trouble.” She gives him a reassuring smile, and this seems to ease Finn’s conscious.

“Okay. See you later, Rey.” He leans down to give her a brief hug, and then his eyes sweep around the bar once more before exiting.

Rey frowns as she watches him go. Something is definitely bothering him, and she wishes he would open up to her or Rose. She sighs, knowing it isn’t in her nature to push him if he isn’t ready. She finishes her drink instead, and then orders another. And then another.

She’s six drinks in by the time she is ready to leave, and she’s far drunker than she intended. She phones a cab, which safely drops her off at her apartment, and then she fumbles with the keys, dropping them twice.

Once inside, she strips and nearly trips over her own pants in the process. Her hands fiddle with the shower knobs, and then she steps in with a small giggle to herself. When she gets drunk, _really_ drunk like she is now, she tends to talk to herself…in a practical way of course.

“Should shave my legs and then rinse my hair and then…” She’s muttering nonsense at this point, but the hot water feels nice as it courses down her scalp and body.

When she’s done cleaning herself she lets the water run over her for what feels like hours. When she finally steps out of the shower, the bathroom is filled with thick steam. She pats her body and squeezes her hair and then walks to her bedroom with a towel coiled around her.

She burps daintily, and then glares at her phone. Her head is spinning pleasantly, and her feet are dragging. Then impulsively, she picks up her device and dials the number she knows she shouldn’t remember.

It rings three times before Rey hangs up. She may be drunk, but she isn’t insane.

She goes to her kitchen and chugs a huge glass of water. Then she pours herself a glass of wine.

Fuck Ben Solo. Honestly. Who needs him?

 

\---

 

She wakes up the next morning on her bedroom floor, still wrapped in her towel. She raises her head and it’s pounding, but not as much as it would have been if she hadn’t had water the night before. She stumbles to the bathroom and releases the bucket of urine that’s been brewing in her bladder for the past eight hours. She rubs a hand over her tired face and checks her phone while she is on the toilet.

She frowns. She has seven new messages…and they’re from his number.

Rey tries not to get her hopes up, but he has never texted her before now. Perhaps he’s being persistent? She shouldn’t want this. She was the one who told him things should stay the way they are, but she’s greedy and she wants him to want her as much as she wants him even though she said she didn’t want him and-

Bloody Hell. She might still be a little drunk. She opens her messages and looks at his texts. Her eyebrows furrow the more she reads.

_Fuck._

_Rey, you can’t do this._

_You made a decision._

_It was the right decision. This can’t happen._

_Are you drunk?_

_God, I want you so fucking bad._

_You should have just dropped my fucking class._

She is beyond confused. And then she scrolls up to _her_ messages.

**_I want you to know I still think about you when I touch myself._ **

**_Your collar was botched again yesterday. You don’t own a bloody iron do you?_ **

**_It’s not the same not hearing your voice. I want to hear you say my name again and again and again and again and again and I think you get the point…_ **

**_And again._ **

**_I’m going mad in class. You never look at me and when you do it’s by mistake._ **

**_But I’m still wet._ **

**_Ben._ **

**_Ben._ **

**_Are you even listening?_ **

**_You make me wet._ **

**_Ben fucking Solo._ **

Rey stares at her phone like it’s a horror movie, and in a way it is. Her thumbs hover over her keyboard, and she knows whatever she says next will either be pathetic or lame, so she just makes it simple.

**_I’m sorry._ **

She places her phone on the counter across from her. She wipes and then flushes, and by the time she stands, she has a new message.

_Are you?_

Five minutes pass. Ten minutes pass. Then she responds.

**_I don’t know anymore._ **

_Is it true?_ He answers right away, and Rey decides they no longer have to play the game of waiting to respond.

**_Yes._ **

**_I know I shouldn’t have contacted you. I had a lot to drink._ **

**_It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry._ **

_I’m sorry too._

**_For what?_ **

_For encouraging this._

**_Don’t do that. You didn’t do anything._ **

_Of course I did. I’m your teacher._

_Fuck, can I just call you?_

Rey calls _him_ instead.

_“Hello,”_ he says.

“Hi.”

_“Rey…I don’t know what to say.”_

Rey swallows. “I suppose it’s too late to change my mind?”

_“I…can’t.”_

“I know, I know,” she replies, hating how choked she sounds. “It isn’t fair of me.”

He’s silent for a very long time. A _very_ long time. And then-

_“The latest assignment you’ve submitted. It needs work.”_

“What?” She isn’t expecting this turn in the conversation.

_“Right now it’s a D+. It’s riddled with careless mistakes.”_

“I…” She really doesn’t know how to respond to this.

_“Stop by my office today at 4pm.”_

“But it’s…a Saturday.”

_“Does that not sound fair to you?”_ There’s a slight catch in his voice, and then Rey understands.

Her nipples harden, and it has nothing to do with the chill in her apartment.

“Okay,” she says, and then shakes her head. “I mean, no, that sounds fair. I-I’ll see you at four.”

_“Good. Bring a copy of your assignment.”_

Then he hangs up.

Rey sinks to her knees, her heart pounding wildly. She checks the time and realizes it’s already 2pm. She slept later than she thought.

She gets up and rifles through her underwear drawer with shaking hands. It’s a Saturday, which means no professors will be in his or her offices. It’s bold of him to suggest they meet there, but then again, Rey isn’t entirely sure what he plans to get from this encounter. She half expects him to actually talk about her blasted essay.

She removes the fanciest underwear she has: a cotton, maroon thong and a black bra. She tries them on and stands in front of the mirror frowning. Why hasn’t she ever taken Rose up on her offer to go lingerie shopping? She feels silly, trying to look desirable. This just isn’t her, and she has a feeling Ben will be disappointed.

She’ll be damned if she backs out now though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH! Sorry. Cliffhanger. The next chapter will make up for it, I promise!


	5. Chapter 5

Rey tries not to be surprised when the academic office building is unlocked. She has picked out her clothing carefully, choosing crop leggings and one of her few V-necks without a stain. She even keeps her hair down, something she rarely does, as it often gets in the way of her daily routine. She navigates the building, which is far darker than usual given the weekend day. Every other light above is lit, giving the carpeted hallway an almost gloomy feel. She paces quickly, her assignment tightly clutched in her hand.

The topic is something stupid, so she knows Solo will tear it apart. It is about the first time she figured out how to properly work on a car, and while it had been an impressive feat given she was self-taught, it isn’t particularly interesting or motivating to read. Not that she wants to spend time reading it today.

She doesn’t pause in front of his door this time, knowing if she does she might lose her nerve altogether. She pushes right through, and sure enough he’s at his desk, in a black button down. He must have an endless supply of the same colored shirts, she thinks.

“Should I sit?” Rey is mildly impressed with how steady her voice is.

He doesn’t respond, but he gets up and moves to the front of his desk, leaning against it and crossing his arms. Rey jumps as the door swings shut behind her, producing a loud bang. The office is so tiny that even though she is practically in the doorway, they are only a couple of feet apart.

She swallows. “We aren’t here to talk about my essay, are we?”

“Would you rather we did?”

She shuffles her feet. “Well, to be frank, I _would_ like to know if it’s actually D+ material.”

The corner of his lip twitches. “That was a lie.”

She stares at him.

“It’s more C+ material.”

Rey rolls her eyes, knowing nothing she writes will ever be above a C in his eyes. “I suppose that’s better.”

“Yes. It is.”

There are a few beats of silence, and Rey brings her hands to her front, the assignment crinkling between them.

“Why did you lie?”

He seems surprised by her inquiry, and he brings a hand up to run through his hair, a bit awkwardly. “I’m not sure,” he admits, “but it will be the last time I do.” He looks at her so intensely then that Rey loses her grip on the paper and it flutters to the ground.

“You were right,” she whispers. “I should have dropped your bloody class.”

He nods, and to her utter surprise and delight she catches him roaming her body, drinking her in in a way he can’t during class. She swallows again and steps closer. Even when he is leaning, his height overshadows her, the tips of his hair coming down to almost touch her forehead.

“This is dangerous,” he murmurs, and his breath tickles her cheek. “You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she breathes, her heartbeat drowning out her voice in her ears.

“What do you want, sweetheart?”

His eyes are brown with bits of yellow. His face is covered in little freckles that are overshadowed by his beauty marks.

“I want you to touch me.”

She expects him to kiss her, but he brings one large hand up to cup her jaw. It trails down her face to her neck, and his thumb plays with the seam of her shirt right by her shoulder. He bends his head, and her collarbone is the first place he kisses.

His lips touch her skin lightly, but when he pulls back there is a tiny ‘pop’ of suction. His hands grasp her by the shoulders, and she is stone still as his nose trails up her neck. She watches with half-lidded eyes and pink cheeks as he gently takes her bottom lip between his teeth and tugs, watching her carefully.

She has already soaked through her underwear.

As he moves her bottom lip away, his tongue finally sneaks into her mouth, brushing against hers. His hands have moved to her waist, and she takes a step closer, one hand lightly gripping his bicep.

She’s hesitant with her tongue. She hasn’t had many kisses, and the ones she has had have been rushed and a bit aggressive. That was what she was expecting with him. She hadn’t expecting this…gentleness.

She supposes in some cases it could be considered romantic, but this…this is overwhelming sensual. It is more than Rey can describe in words, and some of her anxiety comes back as she acknowledges her own inexperience. Then he groans as his tongue slips further into her mouth and everything else is forgotten.

She takes the final step to him, and he straightens his torso. She opens her mouth in a gasp as she feels his erection press hard into her, and he uses the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He briefly breaks apart from her, his mouth coming to her ear as his hands begin to wander.

“You want me to touch you?” he murmurs, biting lightly on her earlobe. One of his hands glides over her rear, while the other plays with the bottom of her shirt. “Is that what you want?”

Rey’s eyes flicker shut as she breathes through parted lips. His hands drift further up her shirt until they come to the edge of her bra.

“Answer me, Rey.”

“Please touch me, Ben.” It is the first time she has addressed him as such out loud, and, he emits a low growl as his hands come to the back of her shirt.

He unclips her bra and she moves her shoulders so he can slip it off of her. It falls to the floor forgotten. His thumb runs over her clothed nipples, and she is embarrassed by how hard they already are. It isn’t long before his hands come under to grasp her skin again, his mouth back on her neck. She cries out softly as he rolls a nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

“You think I can’t see you watching me,” he whispers against her jawline, his hands working her breasts. “You think I don’t notice how you cross your legs under your desk.”

_“Oh,”_ Rey moans, her neck arching back as he pinches her nipples.

“You want to know what I imagine, Rey?” he asks, grinding his hips against hers. One of his fingers comes down the run over her slit, and he inhales sharply when he can feel how damp she is through her leggings. “I picture you sucking me with your hot, little mouth. I picture you spreading your legs for me on my desk.”

He slips his hand into her underwear, and Rey makes a small noise and he moves a finger inside of her. She turns her face into his neck as he begins to thrust slowly.

“You’re so fucking wet,” he moans, adding another finger. There is slight discomfort this time, but she adjusts the more he thrusts. “How are you already this fucking wet for me?”

Rey doesn’t know if she’s supposed to answer this, but she doesn’t think she can anyway. He briefly removes his hand to tug down her leggings to her ankles. He swears when he sees her red thong.   
“Did you wear this for me?” he questions, looking up at her through his strands of his hair.

“Do you…like it?” she asks, blinking at him with flushed cheeks.

He places a kiss to the clothed area between her legs before rising again.

“Of course, but don’t be offended if I remove them.”

“I won’t.”

And so he does, and then her shirt comes with it, and it occurs to Rey that she is standing entirely naked before him, and he has yet to remove an article of clothing. She reaches out and unbuttons the first three buttons on his shirt, but it’s difficult when his tongue is swirling around her breasts. His mouth rises to press against hers again, and then he’s rubbing her clit, and she’s moaning embarrassingly loud.

“You fucking like that, don’t you?” And when she doesn’t answer he gives her ass a light smack.

“Oh my god,” she mutters against his neck, planting a few messy kisses of her own.

“You like it when I spank you like a naughty girl?” he goads, giving her another spank, and then dipping his fingers inside her again while continuing to rub her clit.

His back is leaning on the desk again, and she’s practically on top of him, shuddering against him as he moves his fingers relentlessly.

“Ben,” she gasps, moving her hips frantically. “Ben I-I’m going to-”

“Go on,” he growls. “I want to feel you come on my fingers.”

He plunges them into her with renewed vigor, and then her body is shaking violently, and she’s clenching around him. Her head comes back as a quiet moan escapes her lips, and as she finishes he licks at her throat.

Bloody hell.

When she comes down he removes his fingers. “Get on the desk.”

Rey blinks in surprise, but she does. He unbuttons the rest of his shirt and then that too falls to the ground. She can feel some of her wetness leaking onto the top of his desk as she stares at him bare-chested for the first time. His shoulders are broad and his chest seems endless. She’s so distracted by it that she almost misses when he pulls out a condom from his pocket.

And suddenly she doesn’t know what to do.

He’s unbuckling his belt, holding the condom wrapper between his teeth, and her hands grip the edge of his desk.

“What are you doing?” she questions, rather stupidly, but she’s still trying to process everything that’s happening so quickly.

“I’m going to fuck you on my desk,” he says so simply around the condom wrapper, that she thinks this is still part of the act.

She swallows as his pants drop, and he’s about to remove his boxers when she says, “I…haven’t done this before.”

And just like that he freezes. He takes the wrapper from his mouth and into his fist. “…You’re a virgin?”

Rey nods, and then her heart sinks when his eyes widen in what she thinks is horror.

“I thought…” he shakes his head. “The way you…you spoke and…and texted me…”

Rey’s face is bright red, but for a different reason. “It’s not a big deal,” she tries to say, but it comes out choked. “I just…thought you should know.”

The room becomes silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another cliffhanger! I’m the worst, YAY! Tune in to see what happens in the next chapter ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m dying with how all of you are cringing at the thought of Rey’s first time being on a desk. I can ease your worries; I’m not THAT insane. Loved all your comments. 
> 
> After this story and my other AU start to wind down, I think I’m going to begin working on a fun, smutty, in-universe fic featuring a pissed off Uncle Luke. Love the dynamic of how he walks in on our fav couple in TLJ like an angry dad. Summary as follows:
> 
> “Space Virgins”
> 
> During the day, Kylo can’t break through the Bond. Rey is too angry and too hurt to hear him out, let alone touch him again. 
> 
> When he finds he can intercept her while she’s sleeping, however, he discovers in their dreams he is more confident and she’s more willing.
> 
> Uncle Luke is NOT amused. 
> 
> Or:
> 
> A million and one ways Luke tries to cock block his nephew

It is so quiet in the office space that Rey is grateful when the air vent kicks on, providing some much needed background noise. The sound seems to jolt Ben back from his reverie, and he bends to pick up his pants, and then his shirt.

“You should get dressed,” he mutters, redoing his belt and then sliding on the sleeves of his button down, picking the fabric up to cover his shoulders.

Rey grabs her clothes and presses them to the front of her body with shaking hands. She suddenly feels nauseous, but she makes no move to fully dress herself.

“I…I shouldn’t have said anything.” She shakes her head. “It really isn’t a big deal…”

“How old are you?” he asks, his eyes piercing and his voice urgent.

“T-twenty-one.”

“And you’re a virgin?”

Rey becomes red in the face. “I’ve had other priorities,” she retorts.

He shakes his head. “I didn’t mean…never mind.” He buttons his shirt. “I just thought-”

“Why does this have to change anything?” she questions, hating how pathetic she must seem. “I don’t understand.”

“It changes _everything._ I’m not going to fuck you on my desk when you’ve never…” he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fuck, I can’t believe this.”

Now she’s angry. “I’m sorry this isn’t turning out quite the way you expected.” She dresses herself haphazardly as she speaks. “I didn’t mean to disappoint you,” she spits.

His eyes widen as she moves to the doorway, now fully dressed, and he takes a step in front of her, blocking her path.

“Move!”

“No. You’re not understanding me.”

“I said move you…you oaf!”

He just stares at her and her face has never been so red in her life.

“This is my fault,” he says slowly. “None of this is yours; you have to understand that. It’s _my_ fault.” His face turns bitter. “It always is.”

She’s not sure what he means by that, but she’s too fired up to care.

She pokes him in the chest. “No, you don’t get to say that. Don’t you dare say you took advantage of me. I’m an adult. I made the decision to come here. I made the decision to text you that night, to keep talking to you when you called. I…I might not be as…as experienced as you’d like, but don’t you _dare_ try to say you manipulated me. If-If anything…I manipulated _you!”_

She crosses her arms proudly as he gazes at her in shock. She notices how the place where his cheekbones are have become a bright pink.

“So,” she says, when it doesn’t seem like he is going to offer a response, “what now?”

He clears his throat several times. “I’m not going to fuck you on my desk,” he repeats.

She nods. “I know.”

“But I want to.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want it to go back to the way it was before.” His hand is on her hip now. “I can’t stand the thought.”

She swallows. “Me either.”

“But I can’t continue this way. It…it isn’t right,” and when she opens her mouth to argue he adds, “to me.”

His hand is still on her hip. “So what happens now?” she whispers.

His thumb begins to make circles. “You need a teacher.”

 

\---

 

It is the most bizarre thing in the world to be sitting in the passenger seat of her professor’s car. They are silent as they drive, save for Rey’s occasional directions. He eventually pulls up outside her apartment, and she undoes her seatbelt.

“So, I, um, I’ll see you in class?” she questions weakly.

He nods, and then she nods back before reaching for the handle of the passenger door. His hand comes to her shoulder then, and she turns to ask him what’s wrong, when his lips connect with hers. His tongue traces along her bottom lip, and then he’s gone too quickly.

“I’ll see you,” he says gruffly, and then she scrambles out of the car so she can hide the stark-mad smile on her face.

The following day, she can only think of him. She’s distracted in all of her classes, including Dameron’s, whose strategic communication lectures are usually quite interesting.

Finn is absent from class, and when Rey questions Rose about his whereabouts, she just shakes her head. Rey frowns, thinking she should text him later.

Dameron is in an abysmal mood, which is shocking. His normally charismatic demeanor and charming smile are absent, and Rey even catches him glowering at the whiteboard.

Maybe it’s a blue moon.

When she has _his_ class she is beyond nervous, and she can tell he is too. Neither knows how to react to each other in this setting, with so many witnesses, so they keep their interactions minimal. Rey hopes she can come to the point where she is not even half as nervous as she is excited to see him in class.

After classes get out, she decides to indulge in some healthy relaxation. She has seen fliers around campus advertising the meditation class offered down the road. She figures it is worth a try; anything to ease her overwhelmed mind.

She walks for thirty minutes until she reaches the business, then slips inside a room where a class looks like it is being offered. She goes to the very back and copies the poses of the people in front of her, her neck craning to get a look at the instructor.

He is an older gentleman with graying hair and piercing blue eyes. He walks the room lazily, his hands behind his back as he talks about spirituality and balance, and Rey is so intrigued that she doesn’t notice how everyone else has closed their eyes. The instructor’s eyes meet hers, and with a quick glance around the room she realizes her error and turns a deep red. The corners of his mouth turn up, and she copies her group mates at once, so as not to further embarrass herself.

When the class concludes, Rey shifts to grab her backpack but pauses when she feels someone behind her.

“I haven’t seen your face before.” The voice is dry, and Rey doesn’t have to turn to know it matches the instructor’s face. Yet she pivots anyway.

“Um, yes. I thought I’d give meditation a try,” she explains, adjusting the straps of her backpack over her shoulders.

“Any reason?”

Rey glances off to the side. “I’ve been rather stressed lately,” she admits. “I thought this might help.” She pauses. “I’m Rey, by the way.” She holds out her hand.

The man shakes it. “Luke. So tell me Rey, did you find that mediation helped in easing your worries?”

Rey bites her lip. “I’m not sure,” she admits, “but I think that’s just me. I’ve always had trouble relaxing, clearing my mind, that sort of thing.”

Luke nods. “You seem like you have a pragmatic mind.”

“Sometimes it’s more of a burden then a blessing.” Rey smiles weakly.

Luke studies her. “I think you’ll find sometimes there are things in this world that none of us can explain. Things that you can’t solve with common logic.”

Rey nods. She certainly already has a hard time explaining this new…agreement between her and Ben.

Luke cocks his head to the side. “You might find meditation will be difficult for you,” he raises an eyebrow, “but I’m up for the challenge if you are. Would you like to officially join my little academy?”

She blinks in surprise. “Uh, yes. I would like that lot. Thank you.” And then because she’s awkward and doesn’t know what to do, she gives a little half-bow. When she rises, Luke is giving her an unimpressed look, and she grins sheepishly.

She thinks she might like this man.

Rey laughs to herself as she enters her apartment an hour later. She has somehow managed to find two different mentors in the past week, for two _very_ different undertakings. As she fixes herself a snack, she digs into her pocket and pulls out her phone. She discovers she has a couple of messages.

The first is from Finn.

_Hey, can we talk at some point?_

She answers immediately. **_Of course. Is everything okay? Do you want me to come over right now? I saw you weren’t in class today._**

_I’m okay. And no, not right now. Maybe this weekend we can do something? You, me, and Rose?_

**_Definitely. Anything._ **

_Thanks, Rey._

Rey frowns down at her phone. Hopefully Finn will take the opportunity to really tell them what has been troubling him. She hates how distant they have become, and she becomes guilty thinking it is partly her fault. At least this weekend they will have a chance to patch things up.

Her phone buzzes again, and she sees the next group of messages has come from the unknown number.

_What are you doing tonight?_

Rey’s stomach twists pleasantly as her thumbs hover over her touch keyboard.

**_Working on an assignment._ **

_Mine?_

**_Among others._ **

_I thought we could have our first lesson tonight._

At this point, every drop of saliva has evaporated from her mouth.

_But if you’re busy…_

**_No, I can get them done. When do you want to meet?_ **

_I knew you were a good student. I’ll send you the details._

Rey puts down her phone and pulls out her assignments. She has never been so studious than in this moment.

 

\---

 

Rey calls Rose on her walk to his apartment. She has about twenty-five minutes, and she fully intends to get the advice of her only female friend, while still remaining inconspicuous of course.

_“Rey! What’s up?”_

“Rose, remember when you asked me to go shopping with you? You wanted to go to that store with the…uh…the different undergarments and such?”

Rose laughs on the other side of the line. _“Rey, you are adorable. Yes, I remember.”_ She gasps. _“Are you asking me to go with you?”_

Rey grimaces as she adjusts her grip on her phone. “I’d be interested in taking a look.”

_“YAY! YOU WILL NOT REGRET THIS REY!”_

She jerks the phone away from her ear as Rose screams, and she even gets some looks from passerby at the volume emanating from her device.

“Uh, no I don’t think I will,” she manages, before Rose begins listing off the best lingerie shops in their borough.

By the time Rey has reached his address, her conversation with Rose has come to a close, and she bids her friend farewell, promising to see her this weekend with Finn. Rey stuffs her phone in her pocket and looks up at the elaborately carved stone staircase, leading up to the main doorway of the complex.

“Bloody hell,” she breathes. She had no idea he was so well off. She is suddenly glad that he had insisted she come over instead of vice versa. Her apartment is an embarrassment compared to this.

Rey climbs the staircase and buzzes in to the correct room. She waits, bobbing on her feet anxiously, until she hears the door unlock. She pushes inside and climbs up four flights of stairs, already feeling herself break out in a nervous sweat. When she knocks on his door, he is quick to answer.

“Glad you could make it,” he says. He’s wearing a black t-shirt, and jeans and even though Rey has seen him without a shirt on, this is somehow surreal to her. He has never been this casually dressed in front of her.

He steps to the side and she enters, glad that she has also chosen to wear her usual casual attire.

His apartment is immaculate. Black leather furniture, silver walls, large glass windows, a modern looking faux fireplace. Yes, she is quite glad he invited her over here instead.

“Would you like a drink?” he asks, entering his kitchen.

“Yes, please.”

He returns later with a glass of white wine, and she takes a few nervous sips as soon as he hands it to her. He sits across from her in a leather chair with his own glass, watching her.

And Rey just has to ask.

“Do you…want to know anything?” she inquires, unsure if this is the right thing to say.

He frowns. “Are you referring to your sexual history?”

“Well, I…I guess.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t need to know.”

“Okay,” she says, feeling relieved. She takes a few more gulps of wine and then puts her glass on the coffee table in front of her. He finishes his own glass, and then mirrors the gesture, before rising. Rey watches as his chest muscles shift beneath his shirt, and she gulps.

He sits next to her on the couch, his hair shifting with the movement. When he looks at her his eyes are darkened, and Rey feels something delicious pool in her stomach.

He dips his head. “Did you like what we did the other day?” he murmurs, grasping her chin. “Did you like when I made you cum with my fingers?”

Rey’s eyes become half-lidded. “Yes.” She swallows. “I…I want to do that for you too, but I…” Her eyes flicker to his lap. “Uh…”

“You will,” he says bluntly, and she appreciates the straightforwardness, “but first I want you to lie on your back.”

She blinks, and then turns to finish her glass of wine. When she has drained the last drop, she does as he says, and her back hits the sofa, her legs over his lap. He removes her shoes and places them on the floor, and then he climbs over her. His elbows come down on either side of her head, so he can keep the majority of his weight off her. She still feels his erection poking into her stomach.

She takes a deep breath, expecting him to take off her pants or shirt, but he just dips his head and attaches his mouth to hers. He slides his tongue into her mouth, and she makes a small noise as her head arches up to meet him. She tries to copy his movements, sucking here, licking there. He takes her bottom lip between his teeth and she feels a rush of wetness in between her thighs.

His kisses are slower than before, but she finds she likes this too. His large, warm hand snakes under her shirt and tickles the skin of her stomach, sliding slowly up her body. When his hand comes to her breast, she knows he has discovered she has forgone a bra, and he groans softly as he cups her.

His mouth has become more urgent, and the excitement in Rey’s stomach builds as his thumb brushes over her nipple. His mouth moves to her neck as he rolls her peak between his fingers, and her back rises off the couch.

He moves off her, and his hands come to his shirt, and she watches as he removes it. Feeling bold, she lifts her own shirt, and it joins his on the ground. He stares at her breasts for so long that Rey almost moves to cover them.

She clears her throat. “Should we…go to your bedroom?”

His eyes rake down her body unapologetically. “Do you want to?”

“I don’t know,” she answers honestly. Her eyes flicker to his belt. “I thought maybe I could…” she trails off, hoping he will save her and just fill in the blank.

His hands rise up her sides and cup her breasts again. “You want to make me cum, is that it?”

“Is…that the first lesson?” she asks shyly.

His lips twitch. “No. But I could move some things around.”

Before she knows it, they’re in his bedroom and she’s on his bed. His mouth is on her breasts, and his pants become a crumpled heap on the floor. He turns over, dragging her onto him, and he’s almost painful hard against her hip. It’s dark, but the whiteness of his skin is easily delectable, and he rubs a finger over her clothed slit.

“Take these off.”

She hooks her thumbs into her leggings and slides them down her legs until they are discarded. His hand glides over her rear, and he squeezes her ass, sitting up to kiss her stomach.

“Wet your hand like a good girl.”

“My hand?”

“Mm-hm.” He licks up her stomach, his hand firmly kneading her ass.

Rey spits into her hand, not entirely understanding why, but doing as he commands. He pulls back from her, and then he’s lifting his rear to slide off his boxers and she’s looking at him for the first time and drawing a blank.

“Uh.” She must look ridiculous, gawking with her hand covered in spit.

He takes her wrist and brings it over him, and she grips him weakly. He pulls her down, his hand miraculously staying on her ass, as she straddles his thighs, bending forward towards his face.

“Harder,” he tells her, and he gives her a light spank.

Rey tries to stifle a thrilled grin in the darkness as she adjusts her grip. His hand comes over hers then, and he guides her up and down, showing her just what he likes.

“That’s a good girl,” he murmurs, his hand leaving her ass to grip her hair. “Just like that.”

Rey has never been this turned on without being touched.

She begins to move faster, and she marvels how it only seems to take a handful of minutes before his body is wound tight. He sits up a bit, attaching his mouth to hers as she moves, his tongue plunging into her mouth. She makes a strangled sort of moan as his breathing become quicker, and then he’s sucking on her jaw.

“You fucking like touching my cock don’t you?” he mutters, his language becoming more crass the closer he becomes. He slips a finger inside of her and groans loudly. “Mm, yeah you do.”

Rey gasps as he adds another finger, and her movements become frantic as she realizes how close he is. He’s moving his fingers, and curving them inside her, and then her thumb is brushing over his tip and-

“Fuck,” he swears, and liquid spurts over her hand so abruptly that she jolts. She keeps going though, watching as the spray steadies, and then his fingers are curling over her hand to remove it.

He reaches over to his bedside table and mops up the mess with a handful of tissues, taking the time to clean off her hand. He tosses them in the wastebasket a moment later.

“Um,” Rey says, feeling awkward. “Was that okay?”

His hands are back in her hair, and he’s kissing her fiercely. “You’re so fucking sexy,” he mutters against her mouth, and Rey flushes from head to toe.

That’s the first time anyone’s ever called her that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fun to follow in the next chapter! I made this one a bit longer because I realized the place I was going to stop would be another cliffhanger. I guess this is sort of one too, but it feels more complete than where I WOULD have stopped. Once again, thanks for all the comments! Love you guys :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a scene jump, don’t hate me! There will be more juiciness to come.

Rey blushes every time she thinks back to that night.

Things hadn’t progressed much further, and she has to admit it was a bit of a relief. It is overwhelming enough as it is to keep this secret, let alone explore every inch of her sexuality in one night.

She hadn’t stayed over, for out of everything they had done so far, that had seemed the most inappropriate. She knows what she is to him, and she isn’t offended. She is intrigued.

Two days later in class, Ben is in the middle of a lecture on poetic drama, when she catches his eye. She crossed her legs underneath her desk and she watches with pleasure as his hand spasms, the Expo marker dropping to the ground. As he stoops to pick it up, she ducks her head, half-delighted and half-horrified with herself. It is a delicious combination.

After class she visits Luke and partakes in another lesson of meditation. She does find the process to be helpful, and she tells Luke this after the session. He raises an eyebrow and merely replies that if she views it as a ‘process’ then she has her work cut out for her.

Rey is up for the challenge. As she leaves she sees that Luke teaches a jiu-jitsu class, and she signs up for this as well.

The next day she is in her room, practicing meditation-or attempting to-when she gets a call from the unknown number. She debates not answering. Luke has told her that in order to reach a meditate state, she needs to let go of all earthly attachments.

Well, perhaps not this one.

“Hello?”

_“Where are you?”_

She smirks. He is always so quick to get down to business. “In my apartment.”

_“Can I come over?”_

Rey stills. She looks around her living space subconsciously. “Um, it’s quite messy.”

He chuckles. “I don’t care about that.”

“It’s not as nice as yours,” she admits.

_“I don’t care about that either.”_

“It’s really not-”

_“Rey,”_ he says, _“If you think I would judge you for your apartment, then you must think little of me.”_

Rey sighs. “It’s more of my own anxieties.”

_“Are you often anxious?”_

“Maybe not _often_ …but…sometimes.”

_“It sounds like you need a stress reliever.”_ There is mischief in his voice, and Rey doesn’t need anymore convincing.

“Just get over here already.”

_“Of course.”_

When he hangs up she springs to her feet and cleans like a madwoman. She’s on her hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor when she hears a knock on her door. Her stomach drops. She looks down at herself in horror. She is covered in dust and sweat.

“Just a moment!” she calls, and then turns on the faucet. If she can just clean off some of the dust…

The bottoms of her feet are ghastly, and she begins to strip off her pants in an attempt to both wash and change herself at the same time. As she lifts her foot to the sink, however, she stumbles and lands hard on her tailbone. She cries out and rolls onto her stomach, cursing her stupidity.

“Rey?” he asks, knocking harder on the door. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she wheezes, rubbing her bottom.

He opens the door and that’s how he finds her on her, flat on her stomach, her leggings around her knees, her ass covered by dark gray panties. The faucet is still running.

He bursts out laughing.

The sound is so strange coming from his mouth that Rey finds she can’t be terribly mad at him. “It’s not funny,” she protests weakly, rubbing her tailbone.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” His laughter fades, and he composes himself, but Rey can’t help but feel she has witnessed something special.

He bends down and lifts her by her upper arms until she is standing, then he leans over and turns off the sink.

“What were you trying to do?” he questions, as she tugs up her leggings to cover herself.

“It’s not even worth explaining,” she mutters, still embarrassed. She clears her throat. “I just need to take a quick shower.”

“Would you like me to join you?”

Rey’s jaw almost drops, but luckily she manages to keep her cool. “Um, that’s alright. I really won’t be long.”

“Alright.” There is a gentleness to his eyes that makes Rey smile shyly. He takes a seat at her kitchen table. “I’ll wait here.”

Rey takes the quickest shower of her life. Even so, she takes the time to shave certain parts of her body, the razor flying over her skin expertly, but delicately. She towel dries her hair, and cheekily wonders if she should even bother getting dressed. She decides on something in between, and puts on the blue bra and panties she brought into the bathroom with her. They aren’t the fanciest of underthings, but she hopes her shopping trip with Rose will remedy that.

She takes a deep breath and emerges from the bathroom, slinging her damp hair over her shoulders. Ben has remained seated at the kitchen table, and he is looking out the window. When he turns his head, his eyes widen, and he greedily surveys her body. She wanders over to him, her heart beating out of her chest. He stays seated, watching her carefully, and then she swings one leg over his hip.

His body goes stiff as she settles over him, but his hands go to her ribcage, the dampness from her shower present on her skin. She can feel him harden underneath her, and she makes a small noise as he rubs up against her.

His mouth comes to her collarbone. “Oh my God,” she hears him mutter, and her chest swells with pride. She might be getting the hang of this.

She lets out a gasp as his hands scoop up the backs of her thighs. She wraps her arms around his shoulders to keep from toppling as he stands. No doubt her hair has made a wet stain on his shirt. Soon her back hits her bed and he is on her, squeezing and kissing, and grinding against her. He drags her almost roughly so her legs hang over the side of the bed. His mouth finds the skin by her hip, and he sucks until he leaves a small bruise. Rey props herself up on her elbows, hoping he will climb her again so she can kiss him. But he does not. Instead he sinks to his knees and pulls her panties down so they are caught around her ankles. When she meets his eyes, they are burning.

“Lesson two,” he half-groans, and then places his mouth on her.

Her reaction is instantaneous. His tongue swirls around her clit with an expertise that makes her entire body shake. He inserts his tongue inside her, plunging it a few times before he returns to her clit, moving from side to side with quick, light, flicks. Her hand is in his hair, and the gasps she makes sound foreign to her own ears.

“Talk dirty to me,” he growls against her, sucking on her clit now.

Her cheeks redden. “How-”

“Just say what you feel.”

She gazes down at him right as he looks up at her. She watches him as his tongue moves, and then he slowly and deliberately places two fingers inside of her. His eyes flutter shut as she moans again, her legs shaking as he curls his fingers.

She shuts her own eyes, trying to follow his advice. “I…I love feeling your tongue on my clit.”

He makes a noise against her, and she thinks it sounds like satisfaction.

“I love it when you…when you fuck me with your fingers,” she gasps as he curls and uncurls his fingers. _“Oh,_ keep doing that.”

His fingers and tongue pick up speed, and it isn’t long before she’s grinding herself against his face.

“Oh, _oh God,”_ she cries, and then she comes undone. She feels herself clenching around his fingers, as his tongue moves wildly, and then all at once it becomes too sensitive, and she pushes at his face, laughing.

His eyes are dark and his mouth is wet as he shifts over her. “Very good, Sweetheart,” he whispers, kissing the shell of her ear. “But I think we can do even better.”

Then his fingers slip inside her again.

 

\---

 

“Rey, what about this one?” Rose suggests, holding up a garment that looks more like a medieval torture device than a piece of seductive lingerie.

“Um, maybe something a little more simple?” Rey twists her hands together.

Rose eyes light up. “Oh, I know just the thing!” And then she disappears into the back of the store.

She returns a moment later with a couple of pieces, and Rey has to admit the one in the middle doesn’t look so bad.

Rose ushers her towards the dressing room. “Show me every one,” she exclaims, throwing the garments into Rey’s arms. “And then once you’ve picked one, you should tell me who it’s for.” She sends her friend a wink.

Rey smiles weakly. What has she gotten herself into?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments make me laugh so hard. They are so funny and so well thought out too! I love hearing the analysis and just the overall gushing. It makes my day!
> 
> Also just a reminder, always feel free to hit me up on Tumblr under OkaaraGem. I love reblogging Reylo memes and am always down to discuss theories!

“So Rey, what’s in the bag?” Finn asks, as he takes a sip of his caf.

Rey chokes halfway through her own drink, and Rose has to pound on her back just to clear her airways.

“Oh you know, just…some clothing.”

Rose giggles mischievously.

Finn frowns, clearly confused. “What is it? I want to know.”

“ _Do_ you?” Rey mutters, her cheeks a flaming red.

Rose playfully rolls her eyes. “Some things are better left unknown, Finn,” she explains, elbowing Rey.

Rey winces. While she had been forced to tell Rose she was seeing _someone,_ she didn’t specify whom for obvious reasons. She just isn’t ready.

And apparently, neither is Finn.

“So yeah, I’m sorry I’ve been absent a lot,” Finn says, rubbing a hand up his neck. “My…romantic life has sort of been a mess recently.”

“How so?” Rose questions, cocking her head to the side.

Finn swallows. “Uh, you know, mixed signals and all that.”

“Do we know her?” Rey asks, taking another sip of her drink.

He turns a red so brilliant that it cuts through his dark skin. “Uhhhhhhhh, it’s…not exactly a _her_ per say…”

For the second time today, Rey chokes on her drink.

Rose is quicker to reply, for she’s currently _not_ choking to death. “Finn, we had no idea! Why didn’t you tell us?” She shakes her head. “Don’t answer that; it’s none of our business. But wow! Is he nice? Is he handsome? Does he play an instrument? Does he serenade you? Does he-”

“Do we know him?” Rey asks, her voice still a bit weak from her recovery.

Finn looks off to the side. “Well, I guess you know _of_ him.”

Rose sighs dreamily. “So much intrigue.” Her eyes dart back and forth between her two friends, and she shakes a teasing finger at them. “I’ll have to get you two to fess up eventually.”

Finn shoots Rey a curious look, but she just shakes her head.

The rest of the time they spend together is wonderful, and honestly, much needed. It’s been weeks since the three of them have done anything together, and Rey misses this quality time with her friends. She’s also grateful Finn trusts them enough to reveal his new relationship, even if the identity of his beaux is a mystery for now. It doesn’t matter to her, as long as he ends up happy.

Rose stands up to dispose of the table’s trash, and Rey puts her phone on the table to place her light jacket over her shoulders. The weather gets warmer and warmer with every day, a promise of summer, but that doesn’t mean it can’t pull a ‘fuck you’ every once in a while.

As she tugs her arms into the jacket sleeves, her phone vibrates.

_I’ve been thinking about you all day._

One look from Finn and Rey knows he has seen the message. She is suddenly thankful she has never saved Ben’s number. Finn shoots her a slightly suspicious look, but he doesn’t ask, probably because he knows it would be hypocritical.

Rey smiles too brightly to make up for her awkwardness, as she slides her phone into the safety of her pocket.

 

\---

 

Ben offers to pick her up from her apartment, but she likes walking.

Even so, she is sorely regretting rejecting his offer, for this new lingerie isn’t exactly meant to be worn for thirty-minute strolls. The fabric under her arms chaffs a bit, and she has to hold her arms out at an angle to avoid the constant scratching. She is wearing a bulky hoody and sweatpants to hide the outlines of lingerie, and it occurs to Rey that in order to look sexy, she has to dress very _unsexy._

When he opens the door, however, he doesn’t comment on her shoddy appearance. If anything, he seems absolutely delighted. His hand immediately comes to cup her face and he presses her against the doorway with an almost gentle kiss.

It takes her breath away.

“Are you hungry?” he asks, moving away from her to close the door.

“A little.” _Yes._ She’s starving actually. She was too busy staring at herself in the mirror and plucking the tiniest upper lip hairs off her face to even thinkabout eating.

She internally groans. Honestly, what has become of her?

“Good, I made us something.” He walks into the dining area and Rey follows him, not quite knowing what to expect.

Whatever it is, it isn’t this.

The table is set nicely, and there’s a single candle in the center. Two glasses of wine are already poured, and there’s chicken and sweet potato and some sort of glossy looking vegetable on each plate.

“I ordered this,” he tells her honestly. “I’m…not a chef.”

Rey shakes her head. Why did he do this?

“This must have been really expensive. I could pay you-”

He frowns. “No, don’t do that.” There’s a bit of an awkward silence, and then he clears his throat. “Sit.”

She does, and he takes a seat across from her. Her heart is pounding so hard and all she can think is how he looks amazing in his plum colored button down while she’s wearing stuff from the fucking GAP clearance.

Still, the food smells delicious, and it tastes even better.

“I suppose I should have inquired if you were a vegetarian,” Ben says offhandedly.

“I’m not,” Rey replies, with her mouth full of chicken.

His lips twitch. “I can see that.”

Rey swallows abruptly and then takes a big gulp of wine to ease her nerves. She notices while they eat how he keeps staring at her. It’s like he can’t decide if he wants to fuck her or tuck her into bed.

She finishes her glass.

The conversation is light, and rather impersonal, but Rey suspects he doesn’t want to overstep any boundaries. She doesn’t either, and she learns she _shouldn’t_ when she brings up his family.

“She’s a senator,” he supplies stiffly, referring to his mother. His father isn’t mentioned.

_Senator Organa,_ Rey thinks, and now that she thinks about it, she can see a faint resemblance. She doesn’t ask any more questions.

When she is stuffed, he offers her another glass of wine, and she accepts graciously. When she finishes that, she’s feeling light, and suddenly she’s okay with the fact that she’s wearing sweats.

She uses his bathroom as he cleans off the dishes, and she’s in there for longer than necessary, admiring the decorative soaps. When she reemerges, he’s drying the last dish.

“You can go to the bedroom,” he says, and then pauses, “if you’d like.”

“Okay.”

When she closes the bedroom door behind her, she casts a cautious look over her shoulder and then runs at a full sprint, jumping and landing on the massive bed. She bounces a couple of times, and then stares at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. She wonders if he gets lonely in a bed so grand.

She sits up and adjusts her hoodie as he enters, making sure not to reveal her underthings just yet. When he closes the door, he studies her, and Rey can’t imagine what he finds desirable when she’s covered from head to toe in gray.

“So what’s the lesson?” she asks, kicking her feet.

He crosses the bedroom and leans one palm on the mattress beside her, bending down.

“We don’t have to follow a set agenda,” he murmurs, kissing her mouth, his hand reaching for the band of her sweatpants.

Rey grips his wrist, still not wanting him to see just yet. She’s built up this moment in her head too much, and she wants to buy herself time to ease her expectations.

“There’s still things I need to learn though,” she says, and she bits her lip nervously. She swallows as a thought occurs to her. “What if…”

She can’t say it out loud, or else her face might melt. Instead, when he stands fully upright, she reaches for his belt with trembling fingers.

“Rey,” he says, and she knows he must realize what she is about to attempt.

“It’s fine,” she replies, _definitely_ not looking at his face in an attempt to tamper her nerves. “I want to.”

He grabs the back of neck and kisses her fiercely as she fiddles with the clasp on his belt. He moves his pants down to his ankles, and Rey’s hand accidently skids over his erection. Ben inhales, and he retracts his mouth, and then his boxers disappear, and she’s left staring.

Um.

Yeah.

She thinks the process must be pretty self-explanatory, but still…

“Let me know if you want me to change anything,” she says, scratching her temple.

“Alright.” She can hear the slight chuckle in his voice, and for some reason this makes the task more feasible.

One hand grasps his left hip as the other comes to hold him. She presses a closed mouthed kiss against his tip, and then her lips open to engulf him. She curves her mouth in a way that enables her to move without the obstacles of teeth. She’s heard those are the killers.

He makes a soft noise, and she thinks it’s a good sign. She moves up and down, her hand gliding with her. After a few minutes pass she becomes bolder, and her other and travels around to run over his ass. His hand comes to the back of her head, and he thrusts gently.

Her jaw is becoming stiff, but the longer she does this the tenser he becomes, and besides, his talk is making her stomach flip pleasantly.

_You don’t know how long I’ve wanted you to do this._

_How long I’ve pictured fucking your pretty mouth…_

_You can’t wait for me to fuck you, can you?_

Each phrase, especially the last one, makes her ache. A thrill of excitement passes through her. Will he want to do it? Tonight?

His hips are tensing beneath her hand, and his fingers are wound almost painfully tight in her hair. She bobs quickly, trying to account for his movements the closer he comes.

“Where do you want me to come?” he pants, and she is confused by the question. There are options?

She doesn’t answer, but she keeps moving and he gets the message. As she bobs her head, she becomes more experimental, and her tongue sweeps over his tip.

The fourth time she does this, he moans and his body goes slack against her, and then there’s liquid filling her mouth. She makes a small noise of surprise, and after a few more gentle thrusts he pulls out.

Rey swallows a bit, but the rest falls down her chin because she didn’t really have a plan. The taste isn’t awful, but it’s strange, and she covers her face to hide her involuntary gag.

Then a handful of tissues press to her face. “It’s okay,” he says, and she spits gratefully into the paper wad.

He mops up her face, and throws the cluster in the wastebasket. “I’ll be right back,” he tells her, picking up his boxers and exiting the room.

Rey runs to the kitchen and swirls some water into her mouth in case he kisses her again, which he most likely will. Her stomach turns over and over in excitement, and when she returns to the bedroom, she waits for him eagerly on the bed.

When he reemerges, she stands, still wearing her sweats. He crosses the room, and sure enough, he kisses her, his hands in her hair and his tongue in her mouth.

She pulls back from him. “I want to have sex,” she blurts, and he blinks in surprise.

And then, all of a sudden he looks hesitant. “Rey…”

It’s because she’s looking like she lives in a garbage can. That’s why he must be holding back. She backs away and pulls her sweatpants to her feet, stepping over them. Then she grabs the ends of her hoodie, and that’s discarded as well.

The material is coconut white, and practically sheer, and it flows down her body to end on her upper thigh. The straps are skinny and one hangs off her shoulder. The cups are lace and dip down between her breasts. Unlike many of the other sets Rose recommended to her, this one is less restricting, and much like a nightgown. It’s the only thing Rey would feel remotely comfortable with, and with that in mind she straightens her spine.  

For one long moment, the reaction on his face is bare.

His lips are parted and his eyebrows are raised and his ears are the reddest she’s ever seen them. Then he swallows heavily, and regains his composure, yet still it is a victory to her.

She smiles as he runs a hand down her arm.

And then he pulls it away. “I don’t…”

Her smile fades.

“I don’t think it’s the best idea right now…”

“Why not? We’ve done everything else. What’s left?” It occurs to her this is probably a very ignorant question, but damn it, she doesn’t get why he’s being like this.

He just shakes his head.

“Don’t you want to?” she asks softly, disappointed.

“Yes, I want to,” he answers, his voice careful and measured.

“Then why-”

“I just don’t think-”

“Is it because I’m a virgin?” Now she feels awkward. She crosses her arms across her chest. “I thought…”

“I just don’t think now’s a good time.” He’s not looking at her anymore.

“When is?”

“…I don’t know.”

Rey swallows down the lump in her throat. “If we both want to, then I don’t see the issue-”

“The issue is this shouldn’t be happening,” he snaps. “But it is anyway and this,” he gestures to her, “is too much.”

Rey reaches for her clothes, swallowing back tears. She dresses quickly. When she’s finished she glares fiercely at him.

“I’m an adult, Ben.” And she wishes she could tell what he is thinking, but she can’t, and now she’s dangerously close to crying, so she brushes past him and leaves his apartment, wondering if she should have said something more biting on the way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, not exactly fair of Ben, but at the same time gotta understand his inner conflict. You know I can’t have them be bitter for long though, it would just break my heart. Here’s roughly what I imagine the piece Rey wears to be like:
> 
> [ Rey Lingerie ](https://www.victoriassecret.com/vs/lingerie/babydolls/very-sexy-chantilly-lace-mesh-babydoll-45763c59-228c-4dac-807f-db411f9f3ae8?stackId=517ae7bb-16d2-42a5-90f6-4aa8ec6551aa)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We know at this point something in their relationship needs to change. I think it’s time for Rey to take some control. 
> 
> Happy Mother's Day to all those mothers out there!

“You’re especially distracted today,” Luke tells her, as she rises from her meditative pose.

Rey’s shoulders slump. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yes.”

She huffs. “Well, I have a lot going on in my life right now.” She reaches for her bag.

“Anything you need help with?” he asks, with a raise of his sandy eyebrow.

Rey winces. “It’s sort of a romantic problem.”

Luke crosses his arms. “Ah, so you’re implying I would have no advice to give.”

Her eyes widen. “No! I-” she pauses when she sees his wry smile, and she shakes her head, realizing he is joking. “The situation is hard to explain.”

“I understand,” Luke nods. “Have a nice day, Rey.”

He turns to leave, and then Rey blurts out, “Have you ever tried to be with someone you shouldn’t?”

Luke swivels back around, and now both his eyebrows are raised. “…Shouldn’t how?”

“There could be a lot of factors,” Rey explains, stretching her arms out. She trusts Luke, but she doesn’t think they have the sort of relationship where she can divulge her most intimate confessions. So she plans to keep things vague. “Relationship status, morals, age-”

“So it’s age then?” Luke guesses.

Rey gawks. “How-”

“Most things come in threes,” Luke observes, cupping his chin, “truths included.”

She sighs. “Fine. It’s…partly age. He can’t make up his mind it seems.”

“About…?”

“About _my_ age.”

“Ah.”

“…Yeah.”

“You can spare me the details,” Luke says, and Rey reddens, “but it sounds to me as if there could be a power dynamic. Do you find he holds the power? Or do you?”

“I…”

That is a complicated question. Intrinsically, he does, just based on the fact of his instructor status. In the bedroom he does as well, but that’s because she has given him that control. Maybe that’s what is so hard about it. Rey is always so in charge of her life that giving control to someone else hasn’t been easy. Don’t get her wrong, she has been enjoying herself, but now she’s beginning to realize maybe she can’t handle him calling _all_ the shots.

Her chest swells as she remembers how good it felt, standing there in her lingerie, watching the blush spread across Ben’s face. In that moment _she_ had been the one in control, and she had liked it.

“Often times in a relationship of any kind, but especially a romantic one, there is a power dynamic, no matter how subtle,” Luke offers. “This can work for some, but for others…not so much. It sounds to me, and forgive me if I’m overstepping, that your current dynamic isn’t quite working for you. Perhaps you need more…”

“Balance?” Rey finishes with a smile.

Luke’s eyes twinkle. “Then again what do I know? I’m just an old man.”

When she gets home that night, she feels much better. Her talk with Luke really has made her look at things with a new perspective. That man knows a thing or two.

Rey picks up her phone and sends the unknown number a text.

She starts to type: **_Are you busy or-_**

But she stops. Then she erases the message and types a new one.

**_Come over._ **

She waits. Her phone buzzes.

_Okay._

Rey grins.

 

\---

 

She’s sitting on her bed with her legs crisscrossed when he enters. He looks unsure, almost nervous as he takes a seat at her desk chair across from her.

“So-”

“I’m not sure we should do this anymore,” she gets right down to business, “if you’re the one calling all the shots.”

He blinks, confusion clear on his face. “I…thought that’s what you wanted.”

“I don’t think I ever said what I wanted,” Rey admits, “and that’s partly my fault, but I know what I want now.” She looks at him evenly. “I want to call the shots too.”

He stares at her in bewilderment. His jaw is off to the side, but it’s unclenched giving him the look of a lost puppy dog. It’s one of the few times Rey can imagine what he must have looked like when he was a teenager.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.” He gulps, and she watches his Adam’s apple bob. “What do you want?”

She raises her chin. “I want you to fuck me. That’s what it’s always been about, hasn’t it? It’s why we’re doing this.”

He furrows his eyebrows, but not in annoyance or anger. He seems genuinely put off by the statement, which baffles Rey.  

She pauses. “Do you still want that?”

He runs a hand over his jaw. “Yes.”

“If I wanted to do it tonight, right now, would you want to?”

There’s something subtle in his eyes, something he’s not telling her. She knows she should ask, but fuck it all, she’s in charge right now, and dealing with feelings isn’t quite her forte. Her pragmatic mind kicks in when he nods.

And then the balance shifts.

She lifts her chin. “Good. Now get on the bed.”

She’s enjoying this a little too much, and when his mouth curves upwards, she realizes she might not be the only one.

He lies on her mattress and she climbs over him, press his lips lightly to his. She feels his mouth part and she doesn’t hesitate in slipping her tongue inside. Her fingers flit to the buttons on his shirt, undoing them one by one. She pushes aside the fabric so she can run her hands up his chest, her mouth gravitating to his neck. His hands trail up the inside of her t-shirt, over her hips and up her sides.

She swings her leg over him so she straddles his body. Then she sits up to remove her shirt and then her bra. She swats his hands away before he can touch her breasts, for she is on a mission. She drags her lips down his chest, his stomach, and then she stops at his belt. She undoes this too, and then manipulates the rest of his clothing until her mouth finds his cock.

He inhales sharply when she sucks on his tip, and then her movements become eager and hurried.

But soon she stops and removes her mouth, a thin trail of saliva escaping her lips. She brushes her lips with the back of her hand, and climbs over him.

“Get on top of me.”

She’s getting more and more confident, and it’s thrilling.

Ben turns her around so she is on her back now, and he slides off his pants and boxers. Rey wriggles her leggings off, and as she does so she notices he is staring at her, waiting for her next command.

She doesn’t say anything, but she takes his hand and guides it down her body, between her legs. His fingers curl inside her slowly, first one, and then two. He’s watching her carefully, and her eyes roam to his jawline, to his chest. His fingers, slow at first, begin to pick up speed, and she can feel his excitement. Then he adds a third finger.

Rey stiffens.  

“Sorry,” he mutters quickly, going back to two. “You’re really tight.”

“Virgin, remember?” she replies dryly.

His smiles, and he places a kiss on her collarbone as he thrusts his fingers. Then he shifts up so his other hand can play with her clit. Rey can’t keep her eyes off him as he bites his lip in concentration, working her with both hands. Her cheeks become bright pink as he looks at her, his eyes sweeping down her face to her neck to the flush of her chest.

Rey closes her eyes and moans through parted lips, her hips shaking with every manipulation. Eventually her head tilts back and she gasps as her orgasm sweeps through her, her body gripping his fingers.

She has barely come down when he’s positioning himself over her, but then he hesitates.

“What is it?” she asks, still breathless.

“I don’t have a condom.”

“I’m on birth control,” she tells him, but she places a hand on his chest and lightly pushes him off her. She gets up and moves to her desk, rifling through her drawer. Honestly, did he not think _she_ of all people would not be prepared? “But if it makes you feel better,” she says, tossing him the packet.

He catches the contraceptive, and he’s looking at her as if she is a whole new woman. She is, in a way.

She moves back onto the bed, shifting under him once more. “Maybe sometime we can do without it.”

“Uh, okay.” He’s blushing. He’s actually blushing and Rey hides her smile as he opens the packet.

Once he’s placed it over himself, he hovers over her, and she sweeps his shaggy hair from his eyes. She feels him lining up with her, and she stares at the ceiling as he begins to push in. She knows his eyes are on her face, watching her expression, and she does her best to keep it neutral. It isn’t exactly painful, but Rey suspects that’s only because he has prepared her so well. She bites her lip as he breaks through her barrier, and then he’s filling her entirely and it’s almost unbearably tight.

“Tell me when,” he says shakily, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration and effort.

She waits a few moments, and then she closes her eyes. “Okay.”

He moves agonizingly slowly, and the pressure is still there, but it begins to ebb as the minutes pass. Soon he seems to be moving almost at a normal pace, and by the noises he’s making, he seems to be enjoying it.

“You’re so fucking tight,” he gasps, dropping to his elbows so he can suck on her neck. “Do you like this?”

“Yeah, it feels…” she can’t even describe it really. It’s far different from his fingers, and although it’s still uncomfortable, he keeps hitting that wonderful place inside her, and soon the pleasure is overtaking the discomfort.

He places one hand on her hip to get a better angle, and his body is tensing in a familiar way.

“Fuck,” he curses. “You shouldn’t have…I’m going to…”

“Go on,” she says, twisting a hand in his hair, starting to move her own hips with him. Watching him like this, she is on top of the world. “I want you to come, Ben.”

In a few more thrusts, he buries his face in her shoulder as his body shudders, and she feels the warmth through the contraceptive. His thrusts become sloppy as he comes down, whispering her name, and when he pulls out of her, she is sore, but she is happy.

He tosses away the condom and, before she can she can say anything, or move to clean up the slight mess on her mattress, he slides down her body and presses a kiss to her clit. By the look in her eyes she can tell he’s set on breaking a record tonight.

 

\---

 

After that, it becomes very, _very_ nice.

Every day after her classes, after her meditation sessions, she meets him at her apartment, or vice versa. They fuck on his couch, and she learns to ride him. He bends her over his kitchen counter one time. The first time she stays the night, they try it spooning.

“I want to take you out to dinner,” he tells her one day, when she’s about to sit on his face.

She gawks down at him. “Your timing is remarkable.”

He just growls and forces her hips down, and she’s done arguing for the moment.

Afterwards, when her chest is heaving and she’s lying under his covers, he rolls over her and enters her, and by now he slides in easily.

“Why do you want to go to dinner?” she asks him as he moves; she’s too curious not to bring it up now.

“Because,” he says after he lightly bites her shoulder, “you’re funny, and hardheaded, and awkward, and _fucking sexy_ and I don’t want it to be just this.” He almost pauses in his movements. _Almost._ “Do you?”

“You…want to date me?” she questions, not quite believing her ears.

She’s never thought about this possibility. She’s never yearned for it. She always knew what this relationship was; she was prepared for it emotionally, and she was content with it. The fact that he’s asking for something else, something…deeper is just baffling. She realizes this isn’t spontaneous. He must have been thinking this for…for who knows how long. How could she not have noticed?

“Not officially,” he grunts, propping himself on his hands, “at least not until the semester is over. But yes. I do.”

“You must be insane.”

 “Why is that?”

She moans softly as he hits her bundle of nerves. “Ben, all you know of me besides what I like in the bedroom is that I have terrible balance, and ‘abysmal grammar.’”

“Not to mention the syntax of a primate.”

She smacks his chest and he grins.

“I’d like to know more,” he adds. “If you’ll let me.”

And then he fucking bites his lip again, and how can she say no?


	10. Chapter 10

There is a little more than a month left in the semester. A little more than a month until Rey can go on an actual date with Ben. A little more than a month and soon they will not have to hide.

It is a long time to wait, but Rey discovers now that he has presented her with the possibility; she can’t get it out of her mind. She can’t believe he would want to date her. _Her._

It is absolutely surreal.

She has a dopey grin on her face all throughout meditation class, and it isn’t until Luke taps her on the shoulder that she opens her eyes to find the rest of the class has left.

“Concentrating?” he teases with a raise of his eyebrow.

Rey shakes her head, getting to her feet. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re taking these classes to relieve stressors. I can’t admonish you for that.”

“I also take these classes to study under the wisest of masters,” Rey adds cheekily.

Luke gives her a dry look. “Don’t push it.”

Rey’s phone vibrates, and she glances down to see that wonderful combination of numbers. Luke wanders to the far end of the room, grabbing a broom and sweeping the dust off the wooden floor.

_Are you available?_

She grins. He’s always so formal. Well, maybe not always, she thinks mischievously.

**_Just about to leave my class._ **

_The one on 32 nd?_

**_That’s the one._ **

_I can pick you up._

Rey blinks in surprise. **_You don’t have to do that._**

_I know. I want to. Besides, I don’t expect you to walk to my apartment. It’s pouring._

She cranes her neck to peer out the window. So it is. She hadn’t even noticed.

**_What if someone sees?_ **

_I’ll stay in my car._

Rey bites her lip. She supposes this is fine. Sure, there’s a _bit_ of a risk, but it’s raining so heavily would anyone really be paying attention if she slipped inside his car?

“Is everything okay?” Luke questions, coming to stand by her side.

“Oh. Yeah.”

Rey quickly sends Ben a response. **_Okay. See you soon._**

“I’m just waiting for my friend to pick me up,” she tells him.

Luke nods, glancing out at the stormy weather. “Good friend.”

Rey smiles fondly. “He has his moments.”

Her mentor quirks an eyebrow, and Rey blushes, knowing the added color on her cheeks answers his silent question. Luke nods again, giving her a sly smile.

“I hope he treats you well.”

Her smile becomes soft. “He does.”

Fifteen minutes later Rey receives Ben’s text, letting her know he is parked right outside. Luke, bless his soul, insists on walking her out under his umbrella, so she doesn’t get wet in the brief transition between building and car. The rain has lightened significantly by now, but Rey appreciates the gesture.

The sun is poking out of the clouds, but everything is drenched. Rey steps in a small puddle right as they exit the building, and she curses. She hears Luke chuckle in her ear.

“Which one?” he inquires glancing up and down the sidewalk.

“There.”

The sunlight glimmers off his silver car, and the pair walk up to the vehicle. Rey’s hand closes around the handle of the passenger side, and she opens the door.

Ben is in the driver’s seat, his smoky gray button down rolled up to those sexy elbows of his. He smiles as soon as he sees her, and then his eyes dart up. His expression drops, and Rey barely has time to process what’s happening before his entire face twists into an ugly scowl.

“Ben,” Luke says, surprise in his voice, but his face kept neutral.

“What the fuck are you doing with her?” Ben responds icily, and Rey’s jaw nearly drops at his hostile tone.

Luke adjusts his grip on the umbrella, and Rey can see the gears turning in his head as he makes the connection between her and Ben.

“This is my business. Rey is my student.” He pauses, and his eyes narrow. “I assume we have that in common?”

Ben is either too angry or too stunned to speak, and so Rey decides to cut in.

“Um, how do you two know each other?”

Ben spits, “I don’t,” at the same time Luke calmly replies, “He’s my nephew.”

“Your…nephew?” Everything has just become very overwhelming.

“Rey, get in the car,” Ben says firmly, his eyes on Luke.

She takes a step forward, but then Luke’s hand is on her shoulder. She turns to him in surprise, but her mentor glares at Ben just as hard.

“Do you really think that’s for the best, Ben?” he questions.

Ben grinds his teeth together, and Rey knows it is taking every bit of his restraint not to get out of the vehicle.

“Rey,” Ben snaps, ignoring his uncle’s question.

“I should go,” Rey says quietly to Luke. “It’s alright.”

Her mentor’s eyes shift to her, and she does everything she can to convey she will be fine. For one moment, she thinks Luke is going to refuse, but finally he removes his grasp from her shoulder.

“I’ll see you soon,” he tells her, and then his eyes dart back and forth between her and Ben. “Remember what I told you about balance.”

“Of course,” she murmurs, not knowing what else to say.

Luke retreats into his workplace without another glance at Ben, and Rey finally gets into the passenger seat. As soon as she shuts the door, Ben pulls away from the curb, probably faster than he should. Rey stares out the windshield as she buckles her seatbelt.

They are silent for a few minutes, and then-

“I don’t want you going back there,” he says gruffly, glaring daggers at the road in front of him.

Rey sputters. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“You’re insane.”

“And _you_ don’t know him,” he bites back, his knuckles white from gripping the wheel. “You don’t know what he’s really like. Fuck, I didn’t even realize he had moved back to Coruscant.”

Rey crosses her arms. “Has he killed children?”

Ben looks taken aback by her question. “No.”

“Has he killed anyone?”

“No.”

“Has he committed any sort of crime? Has he abused you?”

“…No.”

“Then I don’t see the problem,” she concludes, leaning back in her seat. “Besides, you don’t get to tell me what to do outside of the classroom. Get used to it.”

His entire body tenses, and the car picks up speed. In this moment and this moment alone, Rey is a little afraid of him. She has never seen his eyes so dark. She has never seen the vein in his neck pulse as if it is about to burst.

And then, the car slows, and he just seems miserable.

“Ben?” Rey asks softly.

He just shakes his head.

 

\---

 

When they get to his apartment, Ben instantly disappears into the bathroom, which is probably for the best because Finn calls her at that exact moment.

_“Rey!”_ he exclaims as soon as she picks up.

“Finn? What’s wrong?” Rey questions, immediately concerned.

Finn laughs loudly, too loudly. _“Nothing! Everything’s greaaaat!”_

Rey calms a bit, but not much. “You’re drunk.”

_“Nah.”_

_“Who you talking to, champ?”_ a different voice says.

Rey frowns. “Who is that?”

_“Uhhh, my friend.”_

She hears the other man laugh. _“Oh, so I’m_ your friend _now, am I?”_

_“Shhh.”_

Rey’s frown deepens. That voice…it sounds…

_“I gotta go, Rey. It was great talking to you,”_ Finn gushes, clearly sloshed out of his mind. And before dinnertime no less.

Rey says goodbye, not having the heart to inquire why he called in the first place.

She places her phone back in her pocket and knocks on the bathroom door. There’s no response. Then she hears glass shatter. She knocks again, harder. “Ben?”

Nothing.

“I’m coming in,” she calls, jiggling the knob. She curses when she finds it’s locked, but she rummages in her hair until she pulls out a bobby pin. She inserts it into the lock. “Here I come! You better not be taking a shite.”

She opens the door and finds him not on the toilet, but on the edge of the tub. His back is to her and his legs hang over into the structure. He’s clutching the shattered remains of a glass, and his hand his covered in blood, staining the white of the tub.

“Ben!” She rushes forward, pulling on his wrist. The movement causes the remainder of the shards to fall onto the ground with gentle clatters. Rey spins and grabs a handful of toilet paper, mopping up his palm.

His face stays buried in his other hand.

“Do you have tweezers?” she asks urgently, and when he doesn’t respond she realizes she’s on her own.

She goes to the bathroom cabinet with reddened hands, and uses her elbows to open drawers. Eventually she comes across silver tweezers, and she picks it up with her bloodstained fingers. She sits on the edge of the tub and grabs his wrist, manipulating his arm so she can extract the glass from his skin. She leans over and turns on the faucet of the tub, occasionally bending over to gather enough water to wash the cuts.

After she cleans most of the blood away, she sees it isn’t as bad as she thought. She continues to pick out the glass until she is positive there is none left, and then she goes back to the cabinet and removes some gauze. He’s lucky she’s not the type to get queasy.

Once she has tended to him, she feels her anger begin to bubble up. She knows she should be sympathetic, or afraid, but all she feels is frustration.

“Look at me,” she snaps, and when he doesn’t she punches his shoulder, not hard enough to bruise, but hard enough for him to raise his head.

His eyes are red rimmed. “Don’t go back to him,” he says, and his voice is broken. “Please.”

She is speechless.

 


	11. Chapter 11

            She’s long forgotten that she’s covered in his blood. She shakes her head in disbelief as he quickly turns away, and she’s afraid he’ll begin sobbing, but even more afraid that he’ll keep this from her.

She places a hand on his upper back. “Ben, you need to tell me what’s wrong.”

“No, I don’t.”

“ _Yes,_ you _do,_ ” she insists. “I’m not just going to stop seeing him without an explanation.”

He whips around and she’s so startled that her head smacks painfully against the bathroom tile.

“You need to trust my judgment,” he glowers.

She glares back. “You need to trust _me_.” Her jaw sets. “I’m not just someone you fuck anymore, Ben.”

His eyes soften, and his misery returns in full force. “I know.”

His head dips so his forehead rests against her chest. The way he hunches over is almost ridiculous; he is so much larger than her, but Rey sees in this moment he is vulnerable.

“I don’t know how to start,” he whispers to her collarbone.

Her head leans back against the tile, and her fingers curl into the hair by his neck.

“Anywhere.”

That night is the first night she spends where they do not touch each other’s bodies. She lies beside him in his bed, her skin cleaned of his blood. His hand is securely wrapped, and every once in a while her fingers reach down to brush over the gauze, making sure it hasn’t shifted.

He recalls as a child, he liked to be alone because in reality that’s what he dreaded most. It was better to just prepare for the inevitable disappointment. He heard what people said behind his back anyway.

He remembers his first journal, and how he would practice for hours, learning cursive, and then the most intricate calligraphy. He had tried to show his mother but she was busy. He had tried to show his father but he was disinterested.

He talks about many things, but Luke isn’t one of them. For the most part, his admissions are vague, only offering Rey a brief look at the lonely boy who became the mysterious man she knows today. The details are few and far between, but Rey has the feeling these are just the first steps to something more meaningful than either of them could have imagined.

He falls asleep against her neck.

 

\---

 

“You certainly seemed like you were having fun,” Rey comments to Finn as she, him and Rose walk to Ben’s class two days later.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Finn replies, looking anywhere but her.

“Don’t even bother, Finn. You called me too,” Rose tells him, and Finn flushes.

“Well, I had the worst hangover of my life.”

“So it wasn’t worth it, then?” Rey inquires cheekily.

He grins. “I didn’t say that.”

“Glad you had fun,” Rose supplies casually, before strutting into the classroom.

Rey raises an eyebrow. Rose does many things, but ‘playing it cool’ is not one of them. Normally the girl would be brimming with questions, especially with a topic as mysterious as Finn’s secret lover. Rey suspects Rose has used her engineer’s mind to piece something together that Rey herself is missing. She makes a mental note to pick her brain later.

Rey spends most of the class staring at Ben’s ass. She hardly hides her attraction for him anymore, although she does keep herself in check; there are other people present after all. Ben spends the periods talking about dead poets, and the topic can’t be more boring to Rey. Honestly, why couldn’t science be his passion?

When he starts handing back their latest assignment, she leans back in her chair, already knowing her work can’t be above a C. It never is, and even though she knows she should ask about what she can do to improve, she often forgets when they are…preoccupied.

So when Rose turns around to pass her the latest paper, Rey is flabbergasted to see a B on the front page. At first she is elated, and then she feels sick.

He isn’t just giving her this grade because she helped him the other day, is he? Rey’s eyes jump to his bandaged hand, which he flexes subconsciously as he continues to pass out papers. She glances down at her assignment again. She can already see a grammar mistake on the front page.

This isn’t good.

Mind you, Rey would like a B every now and then, but not for the wrong reasons. And this is why she decides to stay after class.

After she bids farewell to her friends, she waits patiently for her other classmates to file out. As the last few students trickle out the doors, Ben looks up from his desk, as if he is expecting her to stay behind.

She strolls right up to him and places her paper on his desk.

“I got a B,” she states.

He nods. “Yes, so you did. Very perceptive.”

Rey reddens. “Did I earn it?”

Ben stares at her hard. “Yes.”

She sighs. “I trust your judgment Ben, but I just want to make sure-”

He stands up and wraps his arms around her biceps. Rey blinks in utter shock as he pivots her, pressing her up against the whiteboard. He has never touched her in this way in such an open, classroom setting.

“In here,” he whispers huskily, “you call me Professor.”

A jolt of anxiety and pure excitement courses through Rey. She knows she likes to play an active dominant role every now and again, but bloody hell, this is taking an unexpected and very, _very_ welcome turn.

And then she snaps back to her senses.

“We shouldn’t do this here,” she hisses, as his mouth comes to her neck. “Ben, we shouldn’t… _oh._ ”

“What was that?” he murmurs, sucking at her pulse.

“Professor,” she gasps, and his hand is already on her breast under her shirt. How did that happen? “We really, _really_ shouldn’t-”

“The door locks automatically,” he says, brushing his thumb over his nipple. “And honestly, right now, I don’t care if anyone fucking sees.”

“You should care,” Rey protests, although she’s losing her resolve. She knows seeing Luke the other day must have shaken him, although she still isn’t sure why. Even so, she knows he is acting out, and this is his method of choice.

“Tell me to stop.” His hand is traveling down her stomach.

“I…”

“Tell me to stop, Rey.” His fingers brush the band of her panties.

“You…you should…”

“Do you want me to stop?” He dips into her underwear and begins rubbing her clit. “Do you want me to stop when you’re already so wet for me?”

Her head falls against the whiteboard. “Oh my God,” she moans.

“Answer me, Rey. Answer me like the good, little student you are.” His hand is relentless, and she knows his fingertips have become wet.

“Okay, you win, but just….get on the desk.”

He removes his fingers in surprise. “You…you want _me_ to get on the desk?”

“Surely you aren’t hard of hearing?” she responds, reaching up and giving his ear a tug.

He raises an eyebrow, but he retreats to his space and sits on his desk. Rey goes over to the few windows in the classroom and draws the blinds. Then, she walks right up to Ben, and nudges him back so he’s propped on his elbows. Her hands go to her leggings, and his body stiffens in anticipation. As she drops her leggings and then her underwear, his hands undo his belt, while she climbs over him. Her knees press into the desk, and her hands grabs his shoulders as she maneuvers herself in the proper manner.

“This is harder than it looks,” she admits with a breathy laugh, and he smirks, his hand running up her side.

Finally, she settles over him and begins to bob, her fingers tightening her grip on his shirt. He closes his eyes with a soft groan, and she bites her lip as she watches the concentrated pleasure morph his features. He swears as she gives a rather pronounced roll of her hips, and a vein in his neck pulses.

Rey’s breath becomes strained as she climbs higher, her hands roaming shamelessly over his body now. She can feel how rigid he is, and she guarantees it’s taking all of his restraint not to flip her over. The thought actually makes her curious, however, and now that she has had her fun, she decides to grant him mercy.

She bends down and whispers this in his ear, and before she knows it, she’s the one with the desk against her back. The few papers and the stray pencils on the surface clatter to the floor as he rams into her, his tongue tangling with hers.

“I’m, ah, I’m going to-” she begins to tell him, but then there’s a knock at the door.

She stiffens immediately, but all Ben does is slow his pace.

“Hold on a minute,” he calls, and his voice is remarkably calm given the situation.

“Oh my God,” she says again, half in laughter, half in horror.

His mouth covers hers once more and with a few more thrusts she’s coming, biting his lip to stifle any noise. Ten more seconds pass, and then she feels the warm liquid fill her body as his groans quietly into her neck.

There’s obviously no time to bask in the afterglow.

They dress quickly, and Ben sends her an apologetic look as she tugs up her pants. She’s going to have to take a long shower later. She straightens herself as Ben answers the door, and Professor Dameron is on the other side.

“You took your time,” he quips, and then peers inside the room. “Oh. I didn’t realize you were with a student.”

Rey keeps her eyes elsewhere.

“Yes. We were meeting about an assignment,” Ben replies coolly, and Rey hopes Dameron doesn’t notice he’s practically sweating through his shirt.

“Were you? That’s great to hear.” He raises an eyebrow. “I think I have a meeting coming up as well.”

Rey frowns. The way they are talking to each other, it’s like they know something she doesn’t. She’s definitely going to grill Ben about this later.

“Did you need something, Dameron?”

“Just wanted to remind you they’re updating the system tomorrow morning. I know how that gets you riled up.” He gives Ben a charming, innocent grin, and although Ben’s back is to Rey, she just _knows_ he’s rolling his eyes.

“Thanks. Now if you’ll excuse me-”

“Of course, of course. Get back to your meeting.”

And then he’s gone.

“Does he…know about us?” Rey asks, partly afraid to hear the answer.

Ben frowns. “I’ve never told him.”

“But he’s just figured it out.”

“It’s possible.”

“Why aren’t you worried?” Rey questions incredulously.

Ben crosses over to her and sits in his chair. “Because _I’ve_ got something on _him.”_


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of you have pointed out that Ben and Poe are sort of seedy in this fic and...yeahhhh. I wanted to try writing Ben especially in a different angle, since it's pretty clear this is a very "smut based" story and not really a touchy feeling one. While I'm glad I've tried it out, I think I have to say I like a more balanced feels vs. smut much better, especially with a well involved plot. If you want to get more of that, I would recommend checking out my other stories, or keeping your eyes peeled for my next story "Space Virgins" which will be a nice balance of everything.
> 
> Side note: My posting may not be as consistent for the next couple of days, just because I've started a new summer job, and the hours are KILLING me. Work plus the commute is basically twelve hours, so if I'm a day late posting once in a while please forgive me dear reader. <3

Rey skips Luke’s class for the first time in two weeks. Although Ben hasn’t told her not to go again, she has decided to wait until his explanation about their past, out of respect for him.

She and Ben go back to her apartment immediately after their little ‘meeting.’ Ben has refused to tell her anymore until they are in a more secure location, which makes Rey roll her eyes. Has he forgotten what they had literally just done in his classroom?

He orders a pizza for her and a chicken Caesar salad for himself. As Rey takes a massive bite of her dinner, she can’t help but shake her head as he picks at his salad. She wouldn’t be surprised if he never had a greasy meal in his life.

“So what do you ‘have’ on Dameron?” she asks around a mouthful of pizza.

Ben gives her an unamused look, and she swallows her food, gesturing for him to answer her.

“It seems I’m not the only one who has…engaged in a relationship with a student.”

“He’s sleeping with one of his students?” Rey asks, frowning. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. He told me so himself.”

“Why would he-”

“He’s a drunk caller,” Ben explains, quirking an eyebrow. “You share that in common.”

Rey blushes to the roots of her hair. “Whatever.”

“I doubt he would say anything if he knew about us,” Ben continues. “Why would he, when I know the truth?”

Rey frowns at her plate, and then pushes it off to the side. Something is bothering her. All these pieces in her head are coming together, and she just has to know…

“Is the student male or female?” she asks him, her eyes intense.

Ben seems taken aback by the question. “I…I’m not sure. Why does it matter?”

Rey shakes her head. “Never mind.” She pauses. “I think I need to call my friends.”

She starts to rise, but Ben leans over and grasps her wrist. “Rey. You can’t say anything to anyone.”

She blinks. “But it’s-”

“I promised Dameron.” He huffs. “He’s a pain in the ass, but I owe him at least that. Especially since you and I are…together.”

Rey returns to her seat with a small sigh. He’s right. It isn’t fair of her to risk Dameron’s secret if she has her own to keep. Still though, her suspicions are starting to get to her.

That night Ben lazily kisses her, and she finds this is just as enjoyable as everything else they have done. His arms wind around her as the covers shift, and Rey cranes her neck so she can trace her tongue against his.

“Why did you become an instructor?” she asks quietly, when they’ve parted.

His thumb traces her jawline. “I don’t know. It made sense to me.”

“Do you even like it?”

“Sometimes,” he says. “There aren’t many other options I could see for myself.” He rests his head against the curve of her shoulder. “What do you think you’ll do? After you graduate? Will you stay in Coruscant?”

“I’m not sure.”

“About which part?”

“All of it.”

He chuckles. “I’m sure your parents are thrilled with that.”

It becomes quiet. Rey parts her lips, but she waits a few moments before she speaks.

“I don’t have parents,” she admits.

Ben raises his head. “You’re an orphan?”

She shrugs. “I’m not sure. I was in the foster care system since I was five.”

“Oh.” He frowns deeply. “I…don’t know what to say,” he tells her honestly.

She smiles. “You don’t have to say anything. In fact, it’s probably better that way. It gets tiring having to hear everyone’s sympathies.”

“That I can relate to.”

She brushes a hand through his hair. “Ben…I don’t want to pry, but-”

“You want to know about my uncle.”

She nods.

He sighs heavily. “What do you want to know?”

“Why do you hate him so much?” Her question is immediate.

“There are many reasons.” Ben looks off to the side with a deep frown. “He’s arrogant. Pompous. Preachy. And he always, _always_ sides with my parents.”

Rey’s hand stills in his hair. “What do you mean?”

She feels him tense, and she knows he’s about to get to the crux of his explanation.

“Back when I was a teenager…I got into a bit of trouble. I stole. A lot. It wasn’t for me; it was for my boss at the time. A man named Snoke. He paid me well, said I was his most valuable employee. It wasn’t always that way. I didn’t particularly like doing what I did.” Ben glares at nothing. “But I started because of Luke. When I was seventeen, he was the only one in my family who didn’t outright detest me. I thought I could trust him, even if I did think he was a pretentious snob.”

Ben swallows and his hands subconsciously tighten around Rey’s waist.

“One day, these documents from my mother’s office went missing. I didn’t know what they were at the time, but I had been to her office often enough that both her and Han demanded to know where I took them.” He shakes his head. “I denied it. I knew it was typical for them to turn around and blame me; I didn’t expect anything more from them. But Luke…” He takes a shuddering breath. “I turned to him and begged him to believe me, but when it came down to it he sided with my parents. It was all my fault in their eyes,” he spits.

“What were in the documents?” Rey whispers.

Ben stares right at her. “The truth. My mother’s team found the real culprit before he could leak them to the world, but by then the damage had been done, at least with me.” He pauses. “Surely you’ve heard of Vader?”

“Of course. He’s that psychopath who-”

“-Blew up the Coruscant town hall. Over 200 dead, including two dozen children.” Ben takes a shuddering breath. “He was my grandfather.”

Rey jolts. “What?”

“That’s what was in the documents. I realized after I found out that Luke and Leia and Han were more concerned with keeping their secret than telling me, or bothering to believe me in any form. They were too busy trying to save themselves.”

Rey winces, and Ben realizes he is squeezing her hip too tightly. He apologizes softly and removes his hand.

“He isn’t a good man,” Ben finishes, referring to his uncle, “but then again, neither am I.”

She cups his face, her thumb running over his jawline. “He was wrong to betray you like that,” she says softly. “They all were. They shouldn’t have hid the truth from you.” She drops her hand. “I think you should talk to him though. At least hear him out before you cast him out entirely from your life.”

“Rey,” he says, his voice becoming tense.

“It’s not my business,” she amends, “but I won’t have you dictating whether or not I can take classes there, at least not until you get the full story. Can you do that for me, Ben? Can you do that for yourself?”

It’s become dark enough that she can’t see his expression, but then she feels his lips skid over hers.

“Alright,” he whispers against her mouth, and the time for talking has come to a close.

 

\---

 

Three days later, Rey is on her way to Ben’s class when she spots Rose heading in the same direction. She breaks into a full sprint and nearly collides with her friend in her haste.

“Rey!” Rose exclaims, happy to see her friend. The pair continues to walk in the direction of the classroom. “What’s up?”

“I have something to ask you,” Rey says, making sure to tread carefully with her next statement. “Do you know who Finn’s boyfriend is?”

Technically, she’s not revealing anything about Poe Dameron, because she doesn’t _know_ if it’s Poe Dameron. Thus, her promise to Ben is kept.

Rose frowns. “Why? Do you know?”

“I…I don’t know, do _you_ know?”

“Well, do you not know, not know? Or are you saying you just don’t know?”

They’re going around in circles, and Rey suspects they _both know_ but don’t want to be the first to admit it in case they are wrong and are overstepping.

Rey opens her mouth to just put an end to this dodging when her eyes catch a sign on Ben’s classroom door.

_Class is cancelled. Read “The Importance of Being Earnest” in my absence._

A few students gather by the door, and Rey can pick up their whispers.

“Heard someone’s getting fired-”

“-Don’t know who it is yet-”

“-Do you think it could be him-”

“-Really creepy of him to-”

“-Probably doing it for ‘extra credit-’”

“What’s going on?” Rose asks softly, and Rey shakes her head.

But she has a horrible, horrible feeling about this.


	13. Chapter 13

Rey immediately calls Ben’s number. Four times.

No answer.

She’s breathing heavily now. They’re fucked. They are entirely fucked. How long until administration comes for her too? Have they fired Ben? Will they expel her?

“This is bad,” Rose says, shaking her head as they walk down the sidewalk, a little ways away from campus. “This is so, so bad. The affair is all over campus. But no one seems to know exactly who’s involved.”

“I know who it is,” Rey says, her voice trembling.

They stop, and Rose glances at her, her shoulders stiff. “I think I do too. Rey, I need to tell you something.”

“I do too.” Rey takes a deep breath.

“It’s Finn,” Rose blurts the same time Rey confesses, “it’s me.”

They both gaze at each other in shock.

“So it’s true?” Rey breathes. “Did he tell you?”

Rose shook her head vehemently. “No, but I…what do you mean it’s you? Jeepers, I’m so confused.”

Rey grips her head. “Me too.”

Rose grimaces. “We haven’t really been the best at talking things out lately have we?”

Rey sighs. “It isn’t you. It’s my fault.”

“How about I tell you what I _think_ I know, and then you tell me what you _know_ you know.”

Rey smiles weakly. “Sure, Rose.”

Rose rolls back her shoulders, as if she’s preparing to do a backhand spring. “Alright. So I don’t know about you, but ever since Finn told us about a guy he was seeing, my eyes were peeled for potential suspects on campus. I mean, not to be creepy, but I was curious!” She shifts from one foot to the other. “Anyways, I couldn’t find anything, _until_ Finn drunk called me with some guy a while back. It was hard to understand, but I thought I recognized the other voice.” She blushes. “Mostly because I find it dreamy when I’m in class.”

“So…you think it’s…”

“Professor Dameron,” she confirms. “It has to be.” She shakes her head in disbelief. “I guess I get why Finn didn’t want to tell us but…” her eyes widen as she remembers something. “But what were you saying? Rey, don’t tell me you…are you also seeing a professor?”

“Um, I suppose you could call it that.”

Rose looks at her expectantly, and Rey sighs again. She has kept this from her friend for too long. It’s time to come clean.

After Rose gets over her initial shock-she spends ten minutes screaming ‘Holy moly’-both she and Rey agree they need to locate Finn. It’s anyone’s guess as to what has happened, if the rumors are true.

The only problem is he isn’t answering his calls either.

So the next logical move is to go to his apartment and bang on his door like crazy people.

“Finn! We know you’re in there!” Rose calls, jiggling the knob. “Open up!”

“Finn, please we just want to talk,” Rey adds.

Finally, _finally,_ they hear the click of the lock and the door peeks open. When they see Finn’s face, his eyes are red rimmed and he just looks…lost.

“Come in,” he mutters, and they do.

It’s awkward at first, with so many secrets swirling in the air. They sit in silence in Finn’s living room, and the only sound is Rose’s heel tapping against the aged wooden floor.

“Is it true?” she asks finally, the question bursting from her lips. Rey is grateful for her curiosity and bravery.

Finn rubs the back of his head. “I don’t know what you’ve heard but…” He doesn’t finish the sentence.

“All we know is there is an affair between a teacher and student,” Rey says stiffly, not liking how much she is coming off as a hypocrite. “Is it you?”

“And…and Professor Dameron?” Rose adds.

Finn runs a hand over his face. “Yeah.” He swallows heavily. “Apparently Professor Phasma caught us together at a bar one night. She went right to administration. Poe was fired today.”

Rey’s eyes widen as Rose releases a loud gasp.

Tears bubble in Finn’s eyes. “He said it wasn’t my fault, but I mean, come on. It was a little, wasn’t it?” He tugs at his hair. “I’ve really made a mess of things. First with you guys, now with him-”

“Finn, don’t say that,” Rose cuts in before he can continue. “We get it. Really we do.” She glances at Rey. “More than you know.”

Finn sniffs. “What do you mean?”

Rey breathes deeply, and then comes to Finn’s side, taking his hands. A single tear escapes from his eye, and she moves to brush it away with her thumb.

The corner of her mouth twitches. “Where to begin?”

 

\---

 

The trio spends the whole night talking, confessing, reliving, relating, and honestly, just catching up. The more Rey speaks, the more she feels weight being lifted from her shoulders. This secret, which has been growing and festering inside her is finally loose, and it’s freeing.

Rose and Finn both have questions of course, and she is happy to answer them. The selfish part of her is relieved Ben’s career is safe, but she wishes it didn’t have to come at the expense of Finn and Poe’s happiness.

By the time they say goodbye, all of their eyes are wet, but they have smiles on their faces.

As Rey prepares to exit his apartment, she asks Finn, “So, what now?”

Finn shrugs. “Poe says he doesn’t want to risk getting me in more trouble than I already am.” He shrugs, but the gesture seems forced. “I’m going to have to take a summer class if I want to graduate on time.” He sighs. “He thinks we should take a break until the semester’s over. I can’t blame him. I think it’s the best thing too.”

“That doesn’t make it any easier,” Rose points out.

Finn smiles weakly. “No. It doesn’t.” He turns to Rey and places a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe you should think of doing the same. It’s not my business but…I don’t want you going through this too, Rey.”

Rey nods, but she doesn’t know what to say, so she remains silent.

\---

 

It’s dark, and Ben still hasn’t answered her calls.

She goes to bed, half hoping her phone will ring and she’ll see the unknown number across the screen of her device. When it’s past 2am, she’s tired of waiting, and even if she wasn’t, sleep overtakes her anyway.

She wakes early in the afternoon to pounding on her door. Her body stiffens as she reaches over to check her phone, and sure enough she has dozens of messages.

“I’m coming!” she calls, her voice rough from sleep.

As soon as she opens the door his arms are around her, and the breath whooshes from her chest.

“Ben,” she gasps. “What is it?”  
“Dameron told me,” he mutters into her neck, and tears leak from her eyes.

She pulls back from him and smacks his shoulder. “You utter dolt! You made me think it was you! Where in the hell were you yesterday?”

“I should have called back,” he amends, rubbing his arm. “I was preoccupied.”

“Preoccupied how?”

“I went to speak with Luke.”

Oh.

_Oh._

She scratches her cheek. “I see. Well…you just so happened to have awful timing.”

He grimaces. “I know.”

Rey looks at the floor. “I went to speak to Finn, after I found out. He was the student.”

“Dameron mentioned that too.”

She runs a hand subconsciously over her hair buns. “He was so upset. He was convinced it was his fault, and I…if it were us…I think I would feel the same.”

Ben frowns. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” Rey’s eyes search his. “We’ve been careless these past few weeks, Ben. That very well could have been you instead of Poe. I don’t…I don’t think I could stand the guilt if it happened to you.”

His hand cups her face, and he bends down slightly. “Haven’t I made it clear that I don’t care what happens to me?” he questions softly.

Rey places her hand over his and gently removes it. “But I do.”

She watches as he swallows heavily. “What are you saying?”

She takes a deep breath, Finn’s advice ringing in her ears. “I think it’s best if we stop seeing each other until the summertime.”

She almost takes it back when she sees the hurt flicker across his face.

“Is this what you really want?”

She nods, and then smiles weakly. “You promised when the semester was over you would take me on a proper date. I’m still holding you to that.”

Ben stares at her, his eyes sweeping over every detail of her face, as if he is trying to commit her to memory. It’s a ridiculous notion, she thinks. She isn’t going anywhere, but for some reason she understands why he is doing it.

When his lips meet hers, he is soft. The tips of his fingers ghost up her arms, and as he undresses her she swears she becomes warmer with every layer removed. His skin is like white fire, searing her shoulders, her neck, her breasts.

Her mattress is soft under her back, and as he slips inside her she closes her eyes. She savors the feeling of being connected, of feeling his arms curl around her like he isn’t going to let go.

And he doesn’t, at least for a while. But then, it is the next morning, and when she wakes again, he is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned to find out what happened with Luke and Ben, plus a nice resolution for our couple.


	14. Chapter 14

_One month and three weeks later._

Rey turns for the fifth time with a twirl of her staff, and she feels her opponent’s weapon lurch from his grip and clatter to the floor. She straightens, panting slightly, with a bewildered look on her face.

Luke raises an eyebrow. “You’ve never done that before.”

Rey nods, too out of breath to properly form a response.

“Are you surprised?”

“Very,” she manages.

Luke grins as he bends down to retrieve his own staff. “You shouldn’t be. You’re excelling. Now, see if you can do it again in half the time.”

Rey gulps.

Twenty minutes later she is sitting on one of the benches in the far end of the room, covered in sweat. She glances over at the training staff and smiles. She and Luke have been at it for almost a month now, and she’s really getting the hang of sparring. While impractical in modern life, the staff is definitely her weapon of choice.

She raises her head as Luke sits beside her on the bench, and she wonders how in the world he is not sweating.

He shifts the sleeve of his robe. “I’m glad you decided to come back,” he reveals, and Rey’s eyes widen. She does not expect him to talk about the brief absence she took from his classes.

“Me too,” she tells him, rubbing away her sweaty strands of hair. “…Ben told me you two talked.”

Luke nods. “We did.”

“It’s not any of my business, but I hope you resolved some of your…issues.” It seems like a lame thing to say, but Rey has no idea how to otherwise characterize Luke’s conflict with his nephew.

Luke stares straight ahead. “We’re both stubborn, and we’ve been estranged long enough for our wounds to become scars. One conversation isn’t going to solve everything.” His eyes shift to Rey. “But one conversation could lead to another, and then another. And maybe with time, we can heal.”

“I hope so.”

“Me too. I…haven’t always been there for my nephew. I’d like to change that.” He raises an eyebrow. “Now I believe it’s time for _me_ to inquire on matters that aren’t my concern.”

Rey blushes. “We’ve…decided to keep things professional. At least until the end of the semester.”

“Wasn’t that two weeks ago?”

She twiddles her thumbs. “It was. I’m just not…I’m not the best when it comes to these types of things.”

Luke blinks. “You mean romance.”

Her blush deepens. “If that’s what you’d like to call it, sure.”

They sit in silence for several moments, and then Luke takes a deep breath.

“Several weeks ago during our conversation, Ben mentioned you quite a bit,” he muses, interlocking his fingers. “He seemed fond of you at the time.”

Rey watches Luke. “At the time? Do you mean he could no longer…?”

He gives her a wry smile. “Well, I’m not sure about that. I _did_ say my nephew was stubborn, didn’t I?”

Rey smiles softly.

About a half an hour later, Rey exits Luke’s business after exchanging farewells. She feels lighter after their conversation, and she even thinks she has the confidence to reach out to Ben now. In class, they had been almost cold to each other, the awkwardness of informality straining every gesture, every passing comment. She had finished his class with a low B, and she found she was almost relieved when she didn’t have to see him in a classroom setting anymore.

It was honestly torture.

That morning, after he had left for the final time, she had received her last next from the unknown number.

_Let me know,_ it had said.

She hadn’t answered, but she knew what he meant. He was giving her the power to either continue the relationship in the summertime, or end it altogether.

She doesn’t want the latter, so she doesn’t know why she is so nervous.

Rey is so involved in her thoughts, that when she rounds the corner she smacks right into someone’s shoulder. She hears a surprised chuckle in her ear, and she takes a step back in shock to come face to face with Poe Dameron.

“Rey,” he says, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t think I would run into you. Literally.”

“Professor,” she gasps, and then reddens, realizing her error. “I mean, er, Mr. Dam-”

“Make it easier on the both of us and just call me Poe,” he tells her, the corners of his mouth lifting up.

She smiles weakly.

Poe pauses, sticking one hand into the pocket of his orange jacket. “Say, you’re Finn’s friend right?”

“Yes, I am.”

He nods, running his other hand along his chin. “Thought so. He mentions you often. Won’t shut the hell up about you and Rose.”

Rey blinks, not used to hearing her former professor talk so uninhibitedly in front of her. “Uh, yes, we are all great friends.”

Poe nods again, sticking his other hand in his pocket. “Well, I should get going. I hope you have a great summer.”

“You too.”

As he moves past her, Rey hesitates for a moment, but then turns around. “Poe,” she calls.

He pauses and pivots, waiting for her.

She raises her chin. “Treat him well.”

The cocky expression fades from Poe’s features, and his eyes become soft, his mouth straitening out.

“I will,” he responds, and it’s the most serious she has ever seen him.

When she returns to her apartment that night, the sunset shines through her window, nearly blinding her. She fixes herself a frozen dinner, and while it’s in the microwave, she goes into her texts. She stares at the combination of numbers she has grown so used to seeing on her device. She stares at them so intently that she doesn’t even register the beep of her microwave.

Remembering what Luke told her, she goes into the contact settings and adds a name to the number.

 

\---

 

The cool summer night breeze tickles the bare skin on Rey’s arms as she stands by one of the few docks in Coruscant. The smell of salt makes her nose crinkle, but not in an unpleasant way. She adjusts one strap of her beige dress, a number she had borrowed from Rose’s older sister Paige. It is a flattering style, and while normally Rey wouldn’t be caught dead in a dress, she finds she can make an exception for this one.

The wind picks up slightly, tussling her hair, and Rey shivers.

“Are you cold?”

Rey swivels to find him there, dressed in a blue button down and gray dress pants. His hair is immaculate, as it always is, and even the collar of his shirt is perfectly ironed for once. He stands there, shyly, his hands in his pockets.

He is perfect.

She shakes her head. “No, I’m fine.”

He walks up to stand beside her. “You look beautiful.”

She smiles. “Thank you.”

She watches as he swallows heavily. “I’m glad you called.”

“Me too,” she replies, but at this point her voice trickles out in a whisper.

Finally, Ben removes his hands, lifting one to cup her cheek gently. “I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.”

She snorts softly. “That’s ridiculous.”

He closes his eyes briefly, before he focuses on her face. “Do you even realize how difficult it was to see you every day, and not say anything? To not touch you?”

“Yes,” she says, taking a step closer. “I do.”

Then she lifts up onto her toes and captures his lips. His hand comes to the back of her head while his other arm weaves around her waist. His tongue traces its way into her mouth with familiarity, but she is still taken aback by how much she has missed this.

When they break apart she is nearly breathless, and she realizes he is affected similarly. For one daring, stupid moment, she is tempted to suggest they skip dinner and head straight back to her apartment, but she knows how important tonight is for the both of them. It’s the start of something entirely different.

He kisses her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, and then her lips once more before taking a step back.

“I hope you like seafood,” he tells her.

“And if I don’t?” she asks mischievously.

He cringes. “Then we won’t be starting off great.”

She takes his hand. “I think we will.”

The corners of his mouth turn up, and the two of them turn and begin to walk towards their restaurant destination.

All along the way his thumb brushes over the back of her hand, and somehow, after everything, Rey finds this touch is the kind she enjoys the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for letting me try my hand at some fairly heavy smut and feels. This was definitely a lot of fun to write, but as some of you know, my heart belongs to in universe fics the most. 
> 
> I’m so excited to write ‘Space Virgins’ which is going to be very, very interesting to say the least. Who doesn’t like an angry Luke interfering with his nephew’s love life? I’m not sure when I will begin posting, but probably within the next couple of weeks. I want to have at least a couple of chapters written so I can post frequently.
> 
> Once again thanks for reading, commenting and leaving kudos! I’ll be around.
> 
> -You can always find me on Tumblr under OkaaraGem; I love Reylo memes.


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